World Governing Body Bans Transgender Cyclists from Women's Events
Most male cyclists claiming to be women will no longer be able to compete in women’s races, world cycling’s governing body said Friday.
The International Cycling Union joined the governing bodies in track and field and swimming as top-tier Olympic sports addressing the issue of transgender athletes and fairness in women’s events in this way.
The UCI’s decision came after transgender-identifying American rider Austin Killips became the first man to win an official women’s cycling event this year.
“From now on, female transgender athletes who have transitioned after (male) puberty will be prohibited from participating in women’s events on the UCI International Calendar — in all categories — in the various disciplines,” the international federation said in a statement.
The UCI said the ban, starting on Monday, was necessary to “ensure equal opportunities.”
Killips rode to victory in the fifth stage of the Tour of the Gila, one of the marquee U.S. stage races, provoking a negative reaction from many cycling fans, former athletes and advocates for women’s sports.
What a joke. https://t.co/VBZzvjNL62
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) June 11, 2023
The 27-year-old athlete had adhered to a policy put in place by the UCI last year requiring transgender athletes to have serum testosterone levels of 2.5 nanomoles per liter or less for at least 24 months before competing in women’s events.
The UCI said Friday it “has taken note of the state of scientific knowledge, which does not confirm that at least two years of gender-affirming hormone therapy with a target plasma testosterone concentration of 2.5 nmol/L is sufficient to completely eliminate the benefits of testosterone during puberty in men.”
It also cited the difficulty of drawing “precise conclusions about the effects” of transgender hormone therapy.
“Given the current state of scientific knowledge, it is also impossible to rule out the possibility that biomechanical factors such as the shape and arrangement of the bones in their limbs may constitute a lasting advantage for female transgender athletes,” the UCI added.
In May, the UCI — led by its French president David Lappartient, an International Olympic Committee member — said it expected to make a decision in August.
The newly expanded world championships are being held Aug. 3-13 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Instead, a decision that the UCI said in a statement was made at an additional management board meeting held July 5 was announced Friday — the Bastille Day public holiday in France — during a key mountains stage in the Tour de France.
Despite the ban, Lappartient said the governing body “would like to reaffirm that cycling — as a competitive sport, leisure activity or means of transport — is open to everyone, including transgender people, whom we encourage like everyone else to take part in our sport.”
The UCI said its men’s category will be renamed “men/open” at international Masters events — which are below elite level for riders at least 30 years old — adding that “any athlete who does not meet the conditions for participation in women’s events will be admitted without restriction.”
Lappartient said the organization “fully respects and supports the right of individuals to choose the sex that corresponds to their gender identity, whatever sex they were assigned at birth.”
However, he said, it “has a duty to guarantee, above all, equal opportunities for all competitors in cycling competitions.”
The UCI follows British Cycling, which approved a similar transgender policy in May, including plans to split competitive races into “open” and “female” categories.
Cycling’s decision closed another competitive route to the 2024 Paris Olympics for men claiming to be women.
Two years ago, one of them — Laurel Hubbard — competed at the Tokyo Olympics for New Zealand in the women’s over-87-kilogram class.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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