Originally Posted by
sjjone
Ditto to what danno said...
Women have no Cat 5, and as such the threshold seems a bit higher, furthermore the lack of women mean that unless you live in an area with a lot of women racers, Cats 1-4 race together frequently. Also women (at least around here) engage in extreme blocking-they slow the peleton down to 12-13 mph for extended periods which skews the average. It's really annoying.
That said, all cats combined road races on rolling terrain, 40+ miles, avg speed of 21-22, Crits are a little faster. The sprint usually gets around 30-32.
When racing against other female pros, women can average 26-28 with sprints in the mid-upper 30s.
About the bold bit - annoying not just for the racers, but for the moto officials, too, especially knowing they could do better. That, and all the times in circuit/road races that they have to be neutralized so other fields can pass....