REF-841 · Sanders et al., 2019 · International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, Vol. · Paper · PubMed

Intensity and Load Characteristics of Professional Road Cycling: Differences Between Men's and Women's Races

Blimited evidenceMeasured on elite to world-class athletesWritten before October 2026, being re-checked

Twenty male and ten female professional cyclists provided heart rate, RPE and power data from men's (n = 3024) and women's (n = 667) professional races over 4 consecutive years. Men's races had large to very large higher distance, duration, total work and mean power (d = 1.36-2.86). Women's races had largely more time in heart-rate zones 4 and 5 (d = 1.38-1.55).

Absolute load was slightly higher in men's races by TSS (d = 0.53) and TRIMP (d = 0.23), but load per kilometre was large to very largely higher in women's races (TSS·km-1 d = 1.50; TRIMP·km-1 d = 2.31).

Participants

20 male and 10 female professional road cyclists. Race files: men's races n = 3024, women's races n = 667, collected during 4 consecutive years.

Protocol

Retrospective analysis of a competition database: heart rate, rating of perceived exertion and power output from professional races.
Intensity distribution in 5 heart-rate zones.
Competition load by several metrics, including Training Stress Score (TSS), training impulse (TRIMP) and session RPE.
Differences expressed as standardised effect sizes (Cohen d).

Key Results

MeasureHigher inEffect size (d)
Distance, duration, total work (kJ), mean powermen's races1.36-2.86 (large to very large)
Time in heart-rate zones 4 and 5women's races1.38-1.55 (large)
TSS per racemen's races0.53 (small)
TRIMP per racemen's races0.23 (small)
TSS·km-1women's races1.50 (large)
TRIMP·km-1women's races2.31 (very large)
Authors' conclusion: volume and absolute load are higher in men's races, whereas intensity and time in high-intensity zones are higher in women's races; preparation should reflect these differences.

Practical Application

**Are women's road races easier because they are shorter?No — in professional race files from 20 men (n = 3024 races) and 10 women (n = 667) over 4 years, men's races were longer with more total work, but women's races spent largely more time in heart-rate zones 4 and 5 (d = 1.38-1.55) and carried much more load per kilometre (TRIMP·km-1 d = 2.31), so total race load was only slightly lower (TSS d = 0.53).** Prepare women's racing for intensity, with more of the race near and above threshold; prepare men's racing for volume and total work as well.
Do not judge a women's race as lighter from its distance or duration: per kilometre it was the harder race.
The abstract gives effect sizes, not absolute watts, TSS or hours, so no race-load number can be quoted from this entry.
Inference, not tested here: the shorter, more intense profile suggests a women's racing block should include more work at and above threshold than a men's block of the same hours; the paper did not test training.
Not from this paper; the base's own practice: read race load with more than one metric at once (TSS, TRIMP and session RPE can disagree; see SYNTH-39).

Limitations

20 men and only 10 women, so many of the files come from the same few athletes; files are not independent.
Professional races only; amateur race distances and fields differ.
Heart-rate zones were used for intensity distribution; the abstract gives no power-zone distribution.
Effect sizes only in the abstract; no absolute values for distance, power, TSS or TRIMP.
Written from the abstract and record metadata only (full text not read).
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level

retrospective cohort, n=20 men + 10 women (3024 and 667 race files); effect sizes only