British Cycling bars transgender women from elite female events

Riders who were born male will be prevented from racing in British Cycling’s elite female events under a new transgender and non-binary participation policy.

New rules for competitive events will see racing split into ‘‘open’’ and ‘‘female’’ categories, with transgender women, transgender men, non-binary individuals and those whose sex was assigned male at birth eligible to compete in the open category.

The female category will remain for those whose sex was assigned female at birth and for transgender men who are yet to begin hormone therapy. The current men’s category will be consolidated into the open category, in which those whose sex was assigned as female at birth can also compete if they so wish.

The new policy is the result of a nine-month review which included a consultation process with riders and stakeholders, including members of Britain’s team, as well as a study of available medical research led by British Cycling’s chief medical officer, Dr Nigel Jones. That research was said to show a clear performance advantage for individuals who go through puberty as a male, and one which cannot be fully mitigated by testosterone suppression.

There is still no set date for the new regulations to be implemented, with British Cycling saying only that it will be before the end of the year, allowing time

for changes to technical regulations and discussions with the UCI, cycling’s world governing body, regarding implementation.

The new policy diverges from that of the UCI, which is looking again at its own regulations after American transgender woman Austin Killips won the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico this month.

The UCI allows transgender women who have gone through male puberty to compete in elite women’s events if they have had reduced testosterone levels of 2.5 nanomoles per litre for the previous two years.

The British Cycling policy change also follows that taken by World Aquatics last year.

British Cycling suspended its

previous policy last April after transgender woman Emily Bridges sought to race at the national omnium championships as a female rider. Bridges described the move as a ‘‘violent act,’’ adding: ‘‘I agree there needs to be a nuanced policy discussion and continue to conduct research, but this hasn’t happened.’’

Jon Dutton, chief executive of British Cycling, apologised for the anxiety and upset caused during the 13 months since the previous policy was suspended. That previous transgender policy allowed riders to compete in the female category if they had testosterone levels below five nanomoles per litre for a 12-month period prior to competition.