Obviously, for many female mountain bikers, the gender issue in connection with their hobby seems to be of great importance. I've never understood that. The connection between mountain biking and X chromosomes is a mystery to me. For my part, I get on my mountain bike for a nice downhill trail. For an extraordinary experience of nature. For a sporting challenge. For a great experience with friends. None of this has anything to do with gender. That's one of the wonderful things about mountain biking: it doesn't matter whether someone is tall or short, young or old, dark or light-skinned, male or female. What counts is the shared experience. Nothing else.

There are definitely differences, they say. The majority of women can't hold a candle to men in terms of riding technique and fitness - and therefore like to keep to themselves. Garbage! Why on earth would a woman be worse at getting around a switchback because of her genes? I don't understand. And who gets up the mountain and how quickly has more to do with training than genetics.

Why do women in this sport, which is so equal, still put gender at the center and want to be among their peers at the women's camps? I don't understand. For my part, I've never thought about taking part in an event explicitly and exclusively for men. I don't see the point or the connection. Perhaps this phenomenon is based on the fact that women are in the minority in mountain biking. Their share is estimated at around a quarter. In my mind's eye, I now turn the tables and put myself in the position of a synchronized swimmer. In the pool - just like on the singletrack - gender doesn't really matter. And yet, for me as a minority male, the gender issue would probably not be meaningless. It's quite possible that many women in mountain biking feel the same way. I still don't understand the behavior against this background, but I can understand it.

By the way: synchronized swimming was originally an all-male sport. I wonder what will happen if mountain biking also develops from a male-dominated to a female-dominated sport? Why wouldn't it? I might then be the first to ask the gender question and sign up for a men's camp.