Trans women are no longer able to compete in elite female events run by British Cycling after the organisation performed a significant U-turn and suspended its transgender policy.
The Guardian understands that the decision was taken by British Cycling’s board of directors after numerous members – and voices within the sport – raised concerns that trans women such as Emily Bridges, who broke the national junior 25-mile record as a male before transitioning, would have an unfair advantage in the female category.
British Cycling also acknowledged there were “concerns” that its transgender policy – which was only ratified in January – did not match the guidance from the Sports Council Equality Group (SCEG), which was based on an 18-month review of the science.
However Bridges’s mother, Sandy Sullivan, quickly expressed her frustration, tweeting: “Dumped by email. We’ve just received this in our inbox. We will be making a statement at some point during the next 24 hrs.” Under British Cycling’s previous policy, trans women were allowed to compete if they reduced their testosterone levels below 5 nmol/L for a 12-month period.
However, the emergence of Bridges, who began hormone therapy last year as part of her gender dysphoria treatment, and raced in men’s events until February, has led to a hasty rethink.
The 21-year-old was due to compete in her first race in the female category at the British National Omnium Championships last Saturday, before cycling’s governing body, the UCI, blocked her as she was still registered as a male athlete for international competitions.
The UCI’s decision came as some riders in the event considered a boycott in protest at Bridges’s advantages. However until Friday she was still able to compete in domestic events, before British Cycling suspended its transgender policy, pending a review.
In a statement, the governing body said: “Due to the difference in the policies held by British Cycling and the UCI relating to the licensing process, it is currently possible for trans-female athletes to gain eligibility to race domestically while their cases remain pending with the UCI (or indeed in situations where they are deemed ineligible).
“This in turn allows those riders to accrue domestic ranking points which impact selection decisions for National Championship races, which is not only unprecedented in our sport, but is also unfair on all women riders and poses a challenge to the integrity of racing. We also understand that there are concerns regarding the extent to which our current policy appropriately reflects the Sports Council Equality Group guidance, published in September 2021.”
That SCEG guidance concluded that “testosterone suppression is unlikely to guarantee fairness between transgender women and natal females in gender-affected sports”.
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It also states that there are “retained differences in strength, stamina and physique between the average woman compared with the average transgender woman or non-binary person registered male at birth”. Earlier this week British Cycling’s head of Olympic programmes, Sara Symington, co-signed a letter to the UCI criticising its current policy on transgender inclusion. The letter signatories claimed the UCI’s current rules do not guarantee female athletes fair and meaningful competition.
The prime minister Boris Johnson also intervened in the debate, saying that he didn’t believe “biological men should be competing in female sport events”.
In a statement British Cycling said it would conduct a full review of its policy “in the coming weeks”. It confirmed that transgender and non-binary athletes could still take part in non-competitive activities.
