Passivity : Why riders can't (always) be blamed

Social media, podcasts, or maybe even your close friends will perhaps have complained about it already : the passive racing of the women's peloton in the past few months. The contrast with their male counterparts, who were making racing even exciting long before the final was big. But to 'explain' this by all kind of gender based theories? No, that wouldn't be the right analysis. Different factors have contributed to the difference in racing between the two pelotons in the past few weeks. In this article, we go through a few aspects who could really have had an impact. Next to the causes, we also look at a few possible solutions who could spark up the races and reward riders who will not be afraid to set up iniatives, long before the final kilometers. 

The parcours does not suit it

Expecting the big classic riders to make a big gap on the Poggio after only 160 km without even the Turchino in it as only long climb? Teams know that their sprinter can handle such an easy race and they rightfully play that card. If you don't give the right ingredients to the riders, than you can't expect them to make good soup of it. Women's World Tour teams became much more professional nowadays than before but we still stay stuck to soft parcours of about 150 km. Some races adjusted their parcours to the increased level of the peloton, but other still lack behind. Allowing longer or more hilly parcours should enable more classic riders to make a difference instead of having to play the card of their sprinter. There is even no scientific reason why women wouldn't be able to ride as many kilometers as men, so the current 150 km are often more arbitrary set, than scientifically. Overhauling the sport immediatly with 250 km classic races looks like a too big overhaul, especially for the youngest pros. But a smaller adjustment to give more chances to the classic styled riders coudl be a good step forward.

Too few riders allowed

Even in monuments, teams are only allowed to line-up with 6 riders. If you already lose two riders or more due to crashes, punctures or just bad legs, than you don't need to be a strong mathematician to understand that it limits tactical iniatives in the final. The lack of team mates can paralyze certain leaders to let their team mates pul and  also paralyze their own iniatives later in the final. They are more likely to look at other teams to do the work, but they can also have a limited number of riders left, what can invite them to bluff too. Increasing the selections to 7 riders could spark more iniatives to set-up tactical breaks or organize a chase, even when numbers are down due to bad luck earlier in the race.

Not enough races

Many riders do not gain enough experience to really develop tactically. Women have a smaller calendar than their male counterparts and also ride fewer race days, and in those 35-50 race days, they do not always ride finals in classic styled parcours too. This makes that many riders have a slower learning curve in those kind of races. A race like Milano-Sanremo was even on the calendar now for the first time since 2005, what makes it a completely new experience for a new peloton. Riders & teams can't set-up races by themselves. But a bigger & more varied calendar could help to gain more experience. Young riders who could already gain some Tour of Flanders-experience in a E3 Harelbeke styled race one week before this monument? Looks like a great possible addition to the calendar. 

Lack of tactical coaching

This year's Omloop was a good example of how what happens in the cars can sometimes have a bigger impact than what happens on the bikes. If your employer tells you that you should or shouldn't do something than you also have to listen as an employee, even that those tactical demands can lead to bizarre situations and little results. Having competent people to support & coach you, are important to make the right decisions in the race too. Riders can't be blamed for bad decisions by their directors who are actually responsible to make things happen in a right way instead. 

Lack of leadership

The last point relates more to the personality of the rider itself. There are certain riders who have the necessarily courage and who are not scared to take an iniative. But you also have other riders who clearly lack this mentality and who rather secure a close result instead of taking a risk to take the victory. Some riders are also tactical quite clueless. They accelerate a few times, even get a few riders with them but collectively decide to not defend the gap anymore almost immediatly after they created the it. It leads to bizarre images on TV and paralyzes the race again. This is sometimes personality bound and not so easy to change for certain riders. On the other hand, still a decent part of the peloton can be helped by more intense mental or tactical coaching in between the races. Nowadays numbers & watts are often the most mentioned tool, but races are not always won by those aspects but also by mental strength and tactical insight. Coaches who also help riders to boost their self-confidence and who evaluate past wrong tactical decisions carefully together can help to make certain riders more courageous to take more iniatives, that can actually bring them in a winning position.