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Women’S Cycle Racing: Past Strategies, Future Challenges, Shelley Lucas

Shelley Lucas

In this presentation, I explore the challenges associated with long distance women’s road cycle racing from a variety of perspectives, including athletes, managers, promoters, and governing bodies. This exploration covers several decades, c. 1950s - 1980s, from some of the earliest sanctioned international competitions to the inclusion of women’s cycling into the Olympic Games. Women in many endurance sports, including cross-country skiing and running, have faced barriers related to sex discrimination in the larger society and in maledominated sport organizations, and cycling falls into this same tradition. An analysis of both primary and secondary sources indicates that historical, biological, and …