The longest race women might face in their season is the 10-stage Giro D’Italia Femminile. The men, meanwhile, race in the 21-stage Giro d’Italia. Even the Olympic road courses are different for men and women: Men can ride a maximum of 174 miles, while women must settle for a maximum-length course of 88 miles. The reasons for the discrepancies are outdated and based on stereotypes and political beliefs established in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The men who made the rules thought women weren’t capable of multiday races, while others believed cycling gave women, believed to be submissive to men, too much freedom.