Transgender cyclists infuriated by ban on male-born athletes in women’s racing

Male-born cyclists racking up wins on the women’s circuit were steamed over the international sports body’s newly unveiled restrictions on transgender participation.

In a decision announced Friday, the Swiss-based Union Cycliste International banned from elite female racing all competitors who have undergone male puberty, and changed the men’s category to “Men/Open” for all other cyclists. The rule change takes effect Monday.

Not happy about the policy overhaul was Canadian transgender cyclist Veronica Ivy, a two-time women’s masters cycling world champion, who called the prospect of racing in the “Men/Open” category “humiliating.”

“It’s an indignity. It’s inhumane. It’s disgusting,” the male-born Ivy said in an Instagram post. “I will not be deterred by this hateful targeted transphobic policy.”

Ivy, who transitioned in about 2012 and previously went by the name Rachel McKinnon, posted a photo of a racing bike with the caption: “F—- the UCI. Buckle-up bitches.”

Also speaking out was U.S. cyclist Austin Killips, who became in April the first biological male to win a UCI women’s 2.2-registered stage cycling race, the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico.

“I am devastated by the UCI’s decision to renege on the policy and framework they previously set out for inclusion,” Killips said in a Monday post on Instagram. “My journey in professional racing has allowed me to see the world, build lifelong friendships, and most importantly give my absolute all to something I find deeply fulfilling. No one should be denied the opportunity to chase the same joy that I and others have found through racing.”

Killips blamed a “cabal of right wingers” for the crackdown in a Substack post.

At least 50 biological males who identify as female are active in women’s elite cycling, according to a count posted by the Independent Women’s Forum, and moving them to the “Men/Open” category represents a significant competitive shift.

British transgender cyclist Emily Bridges, a top competitor in the women’s division, said “the hope is gone now.”

“Official, sanctioned competitive sports is no longer for trans people,” said Bridges in an Instagram post.

The Wild Wolf Cycling Collective, a Los Angeles group that seeks to “celebrate, connect, and center gender-expansive and women riders,” said it was “horrified and heartbroken by this discriminatory and problematic policy.”

“Trans women are women!” the collective said on Instagram, adding that it would “not be attending events which have transphobic policies that spread hate, not supporting the brands that endorse them.”

UCI President David Lappartient emphasized in the announcement that cycling “is open to everyone, including transgender people, whom we encourage like everyone else to take part in our sport,” but that the governing body “has a duty to guarantee, above all, equal opportunities for all competitors.”

Advocates for single-sex women’s sports applauded the UCI decision and pushed back on the criticism from transgender athletes.

“No matter how hard Austin Killips tries to spin the recent decision from UCI that ensures only biological females are able to participate in women’s cycling, this was a step in the right direction,” the Independent Women’s Forum tweeted. “Fairness & FACTS trump feelings every time!”

Sour grapes.
Not allowed to cheat anymore. 🎻

Thank you @UCI_cycling . 🙏🏼#UCI#Fairness4Females #PreserveWomensSports
#HoldTheLine pic.twitter.com/pY6j6cN2yo

— Linda Blade (@coachblade) July 16, 2023

Transgender cyclist Stefanie Harrison posted an undated photo taken at the winners’ podium, saying this “will have been my last race in the women’s category.”

“I don’t have a problem racing with men, I’m sure they will be polite and respectful once I’ve done my racing accreditation to join them,” Harrison said in a post Monday. “But I don’t think me racing in the men’s/open category is going to stop the transphobia that is pouring out or the policing of women’s bodies.”

Harrison added: “I didn’t start racing with women to win, women invited me in to train with them and asked me to race with them because they recognised me for who i am.”

UCI’s previous transgender policy allowed biological males to compete in women’s races if they kept their testosterone in serum under 2.5 nmol/L for at least two years.

Starting Monday, only those who transitioned to female before puberty will be allowed to compete in the women’s category.

In May, British Cycling made a similar change, replacing the “men’s” division with an “open” division and restricting participation in the women’s category to biological females.

Ivy has already received notice that “I will NOT be allowed to race in the women’s field at the upcoming @uci_cycling UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championship in Manchester UK.”

“I’m forced into the humiliating ‘Men’s/Open’ category, said Ivy on Instagram. “No cis woman will be in this category, only trans women and CIS men. That means it’s not ‘open.’”

Ivy won the gold medal at the 2019 championships in the women’s sprint competition and silver in the time trial.

“The UCI has said loud and clear that trans women are not real women and that we must be treated as other, and the cis women must be ‘protected’ from us innocent trans women,” said Ivy.

Canadian coach Linda Blade was less than sympathetic, reacting to Ivy by tweeting: “Sour grapes. Not allowed to cheat anymore. Thank you @UCI_cycling.”