International Cycling Union to ban transgender athletes from women’s events
The International Cycling Union ruled that female transgender athletes who transitioned after male puberty will no longer be able to compete in women’s races in the future, according to The Associated Press.
The UCI said the ban was necessary to “ensure equal opportunities.” It will start Monday.
“From now on, female transgender athletes who have transitioned after (male) puberty will be prohibited from participating in women’s events on the UCI International Calendar — in all categories — in the various disciplines,” the international federation said in a statement, via The Associated Press.
The UCI said it will now rename its men’s category to “Men/Open” at international Masters events.
The rule change came just months after American rider Austin Killips won the Tour of the Gila, which made her the first openly transgender woman to win a UCI 2.2-registered stage cycling event. Killips, 27, followed the UCI’s previous policy regarding testosterone levels — which required transgender women to suppress their testosterone levels to 2.5 nanomoles per liter or less for 24 months before competition.
Killips spoke out last month about the backlash she and other transgender athletes have received recently.
"It's certainly concerning that the nature of the discourse, the amount of energy that has gone into building this narrative would lead you to believe that there's this massive number of trans athletes participating in sports and winning all the time, when the reality is that we're statistically underrepresented," she told the Knoxville News Sentinel. "By the number, some of us do well, a lot of us do just fine, are just normal competitors.
"If the rules say trans people can play, then it doesn't mean that we can't win."
Backlash against transgender women competing in women's sports has grown significantly in recent years. There are 20 states that have enacted laws banning or restricting gender-affirming care for transgender youth, according to The New York Times. Many states have enacted laws banning transgender athletes from women’s sports altogether, too, though many have been challenged in court. A 2022 study from The Trevor Project found that 83% of transgender and nonbinary youth have worried about being denied the ability to play sports due to state or local laws.
President Joe Biden also introduced a proposal in April that would allow high schools and colleges to ban some transgender individuals from participating in sports, though not with a blanket ban for all transgender athletes. The move was a complete reversal from the platform that Biden ran on in the 2020 presidential election.
"Sport has always been a place for community and connection for me and I've been very fortunate that that has remained at the center of the experience, even as I've progressed into the pro ranks," Killips said, via the Knoxville News Sentinel.
"We're all here in good faith looking to enjoy sports at any different level, from amateur to elite level. Sports are many things to many different people, but in a lot of ways I think we're just humans who exist who are trying to share the world with others."
