Women cyclists face higher crash and fracture rates than men – study

Women professional cyclists appear to be more likely than men to be injured in crashes, with a new study finding higher rates of falls, medical intervention and fractures in women’s races.

The findings were presented by Xavier Bigard, medical director of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), at the UCI Congress in Montreal.

Researchers examined 21 men’s races, covering 90 days, and 14 women’s events, covering 37 days.

The analysis included 12,951 rider-race days among men and 4,381 among women, according to Inside the Games.

When crashes occurred, an average of 4.7 women fell in the women’s peloton, compared with 2.7 riders in the men’s peloton.

Bigard said the number of medical interventions following crashes was also higher in women’s races, at 1.5 times the rate recorded among men.

When less serious crashes were included, the overall injury rate among women was 1.55 times higher. Injuries ranged from skin abrasions and concussions to fractures.

The study found 4.3 times more head injuries among women, 2.3 times more concussions and almost three times more severe skin injuries.

The reasons for the differences remain unclear. Bigard suggested that bone health could be one factor behind the higher rate of fractures among women, pointing to hormonal changes and low energy availability.

“The main hypothesis…is impaired bone health. For me, yes, we are not sure, of course, but it is a clear hypothesis,” he said.

“This is related to hormonal disturbances, a decrease in energy availability, and it is also specific to cycling because cycling is not a weight-bearing sport [like running].”

He said the lack of impact with the ground involved in cycling could affect bone health.

While this applies to both men and women, Bigard suggested hormonal factors could partly explain the greater number of fractures among female cyclists.

Other possible explanations include differences in bike design and handling, as well as variations in experience and ability within women’s races.

The research also found that crashes on wet roads were less common, although they tended to be more severe. Bigard suggested this could be linked to greater caution among male riders.

Crashes on descents were the most severe in both men’s and women’s racing, with higher rates of medical intervention and injury.

“In a highly reproducible finding in both men and women, we found that crashes occurring on descents were the most severe, requiring medical intervention and causing injuries.

“This once again underlines how speed can be an important factor in injuries in road races,” Bigard said.

Bigard also estimated the financial impact of injuries, putting the potential cost at about €891,000 among women and €2.3m among men.

The findings raise questions about why injury rates differ between male and female professional cycling and whether factors including training, equipment, bone health and race conditions could help explain the gap.