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news
National Cycling Centre (British Cycling).jpgUCI bars transgender cyclist Emily Bridges from debut as woman at National Omnium Championships this weekend
British Cycling has confirmed that transgender cyclist Emily Bridges will not now make her competitive debut as a woman at the National Omnium Championships in Derby this weekend, saying that the UCI has informed it that under current regulations, she “is not eligible to participate in this event.”
We will have more on this story in the morning. In the meantime, in a statement released this evening, the national governing body said:
At British Cycling, we believe that transgender and non-binary people should be able to find a home, feel welcome and included, and be celebrated in our sport.
Under the British Cycling Transgender and Non-Binary Participation policy, Emily Bridges was due to participate in the British National Omnium Championships on Saturday 2nd April. We have now been informed by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) that under their current guidelines Emily is not eligible to participate in this event.
We have been in close discussions with the UCI regarding Emily’s participation this weekend and have also engaged closely with Emily and her family regarding her transition and involvement in elite competitions. We acknowledge the decision of the UCI with regards to Emily’s participation, however we fully recognise her disappointment with today’s decision.
Transgender and non-binary inclusion is bigger than one race and one athlete – it is a challenge for all elite sports. We believe all participants within our sport deserve more clarity and understanding around participation in elite competitions and we will continue to work with the UCI on both Emily’s case and the wider situation with regards to this issue.
We also understand that in elite sports the concept of fairness is essential. For this reason, British Cycling is today calling for a coalition to share, learn and understand more about how we can achieve fairness in a way that maintains the dignity and respect of all athletes.
Within recent years, we’ve seen huge advancements in the science and testing around elite sports, the broader scientific and understanding of human biology, developments in protection provided by the law, and crucially a greater respect for the psychological and societal challenges of those who are transgender and non-binary. This is a complex area and by uniting, we can share resources and insights.
We know that some of these conversations are happening in pockets of the sporting world, but we want to encourage all sporting governing bodies, athletes, the transgender and non-binary athlete community, the Government and beyond to come together and find a better answer.
Across sports, far more needs to be done, collectively, before any long-term conclusions can be drawn.
Below is our original article, published at 1215 today.
A transgender cyclist who was once part of the men’s Great Britain Academy Programme, and who last month won a men’s race at the British Universities Track Championships, looks set to make her competitive debut as a woman against some of the country’s top female riders including multiple Olympic champion Dame Laura Kenny at the National Omnium Championships in Derby this weekend – although some competitors are said to be afraid to speak out about her potential participation in the event.
Emily Bridges, aged 21, revealed her struggles with gender dysphoria and the impact it was having on her, including depression and feeling isolated, in an article written for Sky Sports that was published on Coming Out Day in October 2020.
She started undergoing hormone therapy last year, and her testosterone levels are now sufficiently low to allow her to compete in women’s events under British Cycling’s Transgender and Non-Binary Participation Policy.
First published in 2020, the latest version of the policy was published in January this year following a consultation last summer that attracted 600 responses.
Transgender athletes are required to have testosterone levels below 5 nanomoles per litre for a year (men generally range between 10 and 30 nanomoles per litre) before being permitted to compete against other women.
Announcing the update, British Cycling said: “Our first Transgender and Non-Binary Participation Policy was designed to be as inclusive as possible, imposing only necessary and proportionate restrictions on eligibility to ensure fair and meaningful competition, based on the most relevant available guidance.”
The governing body said that it would “continue to follow the UCI regulations introduced in March 2020, which are based on objective scientific research and driven by a desire to guarantee fairness and safety within the sport … For this reason, testosterone levels remain the primary method of determining which members are eligible to compete in the male and female categories.”
It added: “While there has been much commentary on the effectiveness of testosterone-based measures, at the current time we do not have sufficient research or understanding to update this area of our policy in a way which is relevant and appropriate for our sport.
“However, we remain committed to moving with international bodies and scientific opinion, and supporting research efforts in any way we can.”
News of Bridges’ likely participation in Derby this weekend has attracted criticism within the media, with Owen Slot, chief sports writer at The Times, writing that should she beat Kenny – five times an Olympic gold medallist, two of those in the Omnium – this weekend, it would underline the unfairness of allowing transgender women to compete in female sports events.
Meanwhile, Olympic silver medal-winning former swimmer Sharron Davies, who believes that despite reduction of testosterone levels, transgender women retain an unfair physical advantage over biological females and should therefore be excluded from women’s sport, says that she has been contacted by women cyclists who are fearful of going public with their concerns.
“British Cycling ought to be ashamed of themselves,” she said, quoted on Mail Online. “I have had quite a few of the girls very distressed on the phone. They are frustrated and disappointed.
“They are all for inclusion but not at the loss of fairness and opportunities for biological females.”
However, Bridges’ mother Sandy, writing on Twitter, said that her daughter may have to have police protection at the championships this weekend.
“This is the reality of being trans today,” she wrote. “That my daughter has to be on a police operation plan to compete in a bike race in the UK. How in any way can that be #SafeToBeMe2022.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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301 comments
It's interesting to me to see the different number of comments on different articles, purpotedly about womens' sports and health: this article has more than 50 comments before I've even finished my coffee.
In comparison, the interesting and well-researched series 'bump and ride' about cycling and pregnancy: 1 comment spread across three articles. Anna's article about aligning your training with your menstrual cycle: 0 comments. A WHOOP press release about addressing the gender gap in researching sporting performance: 0 comments. I guess, I'm not saying I really want all the blokes over here to have opinions about riding during pregnancy, and not all women are interested in pregnancy or can get pregnant (trans women are women), but I do think it says something about the roadcc demographics. And maybe if you're not interested in any of those other articles, perhaps you could think a bit more about why you're interested in this one. If you're a man who has exceedingly strong opinions about who should be allowed to compete in womens' sports: why? Do you see yourself as a protector? It's not necessary, please. Do you feel threatened by the idea that there is a woman out there who is stronger and faster than you? I'm sorry, but Emily isn't the only one, just the one you find easiest to dismiss.
roadcc commentators are attracted to conflict and outrage like moths to a flame -- perhaps some of us should think about why that is and try to be more mindful about choosing positive interactions instead of negative ones. I probably won't comment again on this thread, I don't like to throw more fuel on the fire. Be kind to each other, please.
Errm at the time of your posting it had been running for 24hrs.
Wow, nothing like a bit of projection there... so men showing an interest must be to do with mysogynist leanings and their own inferiority complex? Classy.
Out of interest, did you feel the need to comment on the recent article about male prostate health? If not, why not?
I think the reason why this topic is such a hot one is because equality and fairness in sport is something we can all relate to. That 'fairness' is very much open interpretation which in turn leads to strong, differing opinions, and accordingly lots of comments.
I think another reason this subject is so triggering is because for many, there is a sense that the current regulations and their application have been defined with seemingly little public / participant consultation / explanation. Taken to extreme;
Governing Body: 'Head's up, it's OK for Men to race as women now, they just need to keep their testosterone levels down'
Member: 'sorry, what?'
Governing Body: 'why you questionning this, trans-phobe!!?'
More discussions needs to take place, to break down those objections and inaccurate beliefs; the general populus is not as 'woke' as many expect / want. Simply shouting down anyone with an alternative view will not change their views, it will only polarise them.
I'm not sure I'm reading quite what you seem to be reading. Seems like a reasonable observation. As to the reasons for that - could you be projecting yourself?
However I agree with you on one of the reasons you allude to. This is "cultural change". Much of the population is still catching up with this idea in the "concrete implications" as opposed to the abstract. (Much easier to agree with a principle.) Probably this is more salient to a greater percentage of older people than younger ones. Like - I imagine - many who post on here or write strongly-worded letters to newspapers, governing bodies etc.
More discussions - yes and no doubt this will continue, possibly for generations. I suspect there is also the current bias on not hearing women's opinions on this as in many other areas.
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Most male bike riders not over-interested in articles on women riding when pregs.
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Shock, horror! Who'd a thought it?
.
Found a handy little lookup cheatsheet for determining sex from: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/sa-visual/visualizing-sex-as-a-spectrum/
Edit: changed image to their finished version
Thank you, on first glance that looks horrific but on reading it is actually really clear.
I'd wager that whole spectrum of differences covers about 1% of the population. Due to the vociferous few it seems like large percentages of the population are minorities when it just isn't so.
Quite possibly.
I first saw that image used in this Twitter thread posted on Imgur: https://imgur.com/account/favorites/UAxNPWp
It's well worth reading and mentions the following bit
I've never had my chromosomes tested, have you?
On testosterone alone, up to 10% of women (myself included) can move along the spectrum due to a specific condition.
Edit: I would never have known this (I had personally suspected but had literally been laughed at by a GP). However, I then had this condition identified and testosterone checked through investigations for something completely different.
Nope. Never needed to. I'm not trying to masquerade as something I'm not.
The point is that you wouldn't necessarily know if you were somehow mis-classified (masquerade is a loaded word) until seeing the results of a test.
Given that sparrow has shown a fair amount of transphobia I would suggest the choice to use an abhorrent term was deliberate.
yet more transphobia. Any chance you could just not?
Why is that people who identify as the gender they were born aren't allowed to apply binary differences and yet people that identify as a different gender to that when born fight so much to be a part of this binary group?
Trans people seem to think that identifying as trans is somehow lesser than anything else when it's not. They should be proud to be different and celebrate their differences.
Doing anything else is just setting the trans movement back and awakening people to the madness of what it looks like to have a boilogical male standing in direct competition to a biological female. It's doing more harm than good but hey, keep going because all I can see is more and more sporting bodies banning the including of trans athletes because it discourages anyone else from competing. Once a sport doesn't have competition any more people will stop watching it. The sport will die.
what a load of mostly nonsense.
You still haven't found that elusive definition of "biological female" and so essentially everything you've hung your argument falls away. You did this last time, and avoided answering because you know you're wrong.
Or, you know, we could realise that the gross and completely arbitrary split we have now is completely outdated , and work up a different system. Or, you know, you could just let this complete non-issue stay a non-issue, as opposed to further discriminating against people you find icky?
Every person on this earth up to now has been born from a biological female.
You refute that?
But you know what, I couldn't give a shit what you call me. If you think that standing up for biological women competing against biological women and not allowing sporting achievements to be taken away from them by biological men is transphobic then so be it. Evidence suggests I, and many more, growing by the day, thanks to the likes of Lia Thomas and Emma Bridges, are taking a stand against this unfairness and calling it out.
so you're downgrading "woman" to mean "birthing device" now? Wow, that's very chauvinistic of you, to reduce someone to their ability to carry children or not. Quite insultimg
i also don't give a shit about you and your proven, abhorrent transphobia. You've proven you're a troll. Bye bye! Bye bye now!
So you're saying that the creation of life, the bringing of another in to this world is nothing? It's the greatest thing a woman, a biological woman for that matter, can do and is the reason every one of us is on this earth.
I had totally meant to leave this thread alone but I need to comment on this, as a woman who has birthed multiple times.
Some women may view the birth of the kids as the greatest thing they have ever done. Some women may view the fact that for whatever reason they have not been able to birth kids as the greatest tragedy in the lives. That us personal to them.
But it is not the greatest thing for any woman to do, I have done many great things, I will continue to do great things and the greatest thing, of many many great things, my daughter will ever do will likely not be birthing a child.
Never, ever, reduce a woman to a walking fucking womb. This vile cult of motherhood is the root of misogyny.
Everyone on this thread take a good fucking look yourselves.
Hear hear.
That is your opinion.
Being a mother is one of many great things women can do, not just the only great thing they can do. But if you think it's right that a trans woman competes directly against non-trans women and that fathers of daughters can't have an opinion on that then you can fuck right off.
Your opinion on my womb, the womb of others or lack thereof is worthless. Your comments that it is the greatest thing a woman can do is reprehensible.
That was the view of a woman who has birthed my children. A woman who has her own businesses and has achieved a lot in her life but she still holds the creation of our children has the greatest thing she has ever done.
Again, if you think it's right that non-trans females have their right to fair competition just swept away then you are deluded. Keeping on about me bringing the existence of women down to one thing each time will not make me back down. No matter what you call me or say about my opinions I truly don't give a fuck. The fact is, the world is noticing now that it's just not fair that trans women compete directly against non-trans women.
You don't appear to get why what you have posted is appalling. The opinion of someone else with regards to their own body and what it has achieved cannot in any way be compared to your reduction of all women to reproduction.
If you can't grasp why that is a) different, and b) horrendous, how can you possibly grasp the nuance of other discussion.
seconded. It's the cry of the mysoginist the world over. To reduce "women" to their reproductive ability.
Maybe to balance things a little bit, we should perform semen analysis on male competitors and ban anyone that does not meet the quality required for reproduction (e.g. low motility, poor quality etc).
It would certainly lend new meaning to the coaching exhortation "Time for you chaps to man up and show a bit of spunk!"
If I get to pick I don't mind volunteering to help obtain donations... especially with some of the rugby players out there..oh my!
New Zealand Rugby Commentator – ‘Andrew Mehrtens loves it when Daryl Gibson comes inside of him.’
Harry Carpenter at the Oxford-Cambridge boat race 1977 – ‘Ah, isn’t that nice.. The wife of the Cambridge President is kissing the Cox of the Oxford crew..’
Ken Brown commentating on golfer Nick Faldo and his caddie Fanny Sunneson lining-up shots at the Scottish Open: ‘Some weeks Nick likes to use Fanny, other weeks he prefers to do it by himself.’
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