The British Cycling Federation bans trans women from participating in all-women’s competitions. As the association announced on Friday, races are to be divided into two categories in the future – except for “female” still “open”.
In the future, trans women, trans men and people who were assigned a male gender at birth could register for this, British Cycling said in a statement.
The previous “men” competitions are also included in the new category. If they wish, those whose gender was determined as female at birth could also compete there. The new “female” category, on the other hand, is only open to those who were assigned a female gender at birth and to trans men who have not yet started hormone treatment.
Debate about trans woman Emily Bridges
With the change, British Cycling is responding to a debate surrounding trans woman Emily Bridges who wanted to compete in a women’s race. Studies have shown that people who experience puberty as a man have a clear performance advantage that cannot be completely mitigated with testosterone suppression, the association emphasized. Previously, trans people were allowed to compete in women’s races if they did not exceed a certain testosterone level in the 12 months prior to a race.
British Cycling is now deviating from the position of the world governing body UCI, which allows trans women to participate if testosterone levels have been below a certain number for two years. However, the UCI wants to review its regulations by August.
Trans people or transgender people are people who do not feel they belong to the gender they were assigned at birth.