Originally Posted by matagi

You need to bear in mind that the muscle mass to bodyweight ratio is generally less in females compared to males of the same weight.

Also, if these were women who looked like they do tris, maybe they were using their tri bikes which are usually higher geared and therefore not suitable for climbing hills. I had this experience on a recent charity ride, on the flats I was passed by this extremely fit looking woman who made me look like I was pedalling backwards, but as soon as we hit a hill I sailed past her like she was pedalling backwards Her bike had a corn-cob cluster, mine has gearing that can practically climb trees - I'm sure if her gearing had been slightly different, she would have powered up the hills and become a dot in the distance.

We watched a road race on local television recently ... all the women competing were world class cyclists and there was one section in the race where the bulk of them got off their bikes and WALKED up the hill - only a handful actually managed to cycle up the hill and they were barely faster than the people walking. Obviously, this was a function of gearing but put a male cyclist of the same weight and fitness on a similarly geared bike, and he would have had no problem with that hill.