British cycling federation bars transgender women from competing in the female category

British cycling federation bars transgender women from competing in the female category

On Friday, British Cycling tightened its participation regulations to "safeguard the fairness" of the sport by outlawing transgender women from competing in the female division of competitive events.

The new regulations made public after a nine-month policy assessment, differ from the international governing body of cycling by classifying cyclists into "female" and "open" categories and take effect at the end of 2023.

For those whose sex was designated female at birth and transgender guys who haven't started hormone therapy, the female categorization still applies. Male athletes, transgender men and women, non-binary people, and people whose sex was assigned male at birth will compete in the open category.

Jon Dutton, the CEO of British Cycling, expressed his confidence in the organization's ability to "develop policies that both safeguard the fairness of cycle sports competition while ensuring that all riders have opportunities to participate."

After suspending its prior policy last year, the federation apologized to transgender athletes for the lengthy delay in formulating a new one.

He responded, "We acknowledge the impact the suspension of our policy has had on trans and non-binary persons, and we are sorry for the uncertainty and sorrow that many have encountered during this period.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) permits transgender women with low testosterone to compete in female-only competitions; the policy review's findings will be made public in August.

Following Friday's statement and similar guidelines established by Swim England and UK Athletics, British cyclist Emily Bridges, 22, will not be permitted to race in the female division.

Due to Bridges' participation in the female division, some of the top female riders in the UK vowed to boycott the British National Omnium Championships the previous year.

 

In a short Instagram post on Friday, Bridges denounced the rule revisions and labeled British Cycling a "failed organization."