Official: Transgender cyclists who transition after puberty will not be allowed to compete

Changes in the regulations of International Cycling Union (UCI) regarding the participation of transgender athletes in international competitions. In an extraordinary meeting held, the Management Committee of the International Cycling Union (UCI) decided to adapt the current UCI rules on the right of transgender athletes to participate in competitions on the UCI international calendar.

The meeting of UCI Management Committee This took place after a seminar on the conditions for the participation of transgender athletes in women’s cycling events, organized by the UCI on June 21, in which various stakeholders participated. Transgender and cisgender athletes -when a person’s gender identity corresponds to the assigned sex-, experts from the scientific world, legal and human rights experts, and sports institutions were able to present their positions.

gg.didomi.doWhenConsent(!window.didomiBypass, ‘c:twitterwi-wUmBnnKy’, function () {
var x = document.createElement(‘script’);
x.setAttribute(“type”,”text/javascript”);
x.setAttribute(“src”, “//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”);
x.setAttribute(“charset”, “utf-8”);
$(“.twitter-tweet”).closest( “span” ).append(x);
});

From now on, transgender athletes who transitioned after (male) puberty will be banned from taking part in women’s events on the UCI international calendar, in all categories, in different disciplines.

For international Master events – races in the international UCI Cycling for All calendar and UCI events (UCI Gran Fondo World Series, UCI Gran Fondo World Championships, UCI Gravel World Series, UCI Gravel World Championships and UCI Masters World Championships) – , the men’s category will be renamed Men/Open, and any athlete who does not meet the conditions to participate in women’s events will be accepted without restriction.

“He UCI Management Committee noted the state of scientific knowledge, which does not prove that at least two years of gender-affirming hormone therapy with a target plasma testosterone concentration of 2.5 nmol/L is sufficient to completely eliminate the benefits of testosterone for puberty in boys. In addition, there is great variability between individuals in the response to sex-affirming hormone therapy, which makes it more difficult to draw accurate conclusions about the effects of such treatment,” the UCI explained in a statement. to explain its position. added, “Given the current state of scientific knowledge, it is also impossible to eliminate the possibility that biomechanical factors such as the shape and arrangement of their bones at the end may provide a long-term advantage for transgender athletes.”

Considering these findings, the UCI Management Committee taking into account the interests of transgender athletes in the ability to participate in sports competitions against athletes in the female category, which is considered a protected class. In this context, the UCI Governing Board has concluded, taking into account the remaining scientific uncertainties, that it is necessary to take this measure in order to protect the female category and guarantee equal opportunities.

This new regulation will take effect on July 17 of this year. The UCI informs that this may change in the future as scientific knowledge develops. With this in mind, the UCI will begin discussions with other members of the international sports movement about co-funding a research program aimed at studying changes in the physical performance of highly trained athletes. athlete undergoing transitional hormone treatment.

He UCI President David Lappartient It said in this regard: “First of all, the UCI wishes to reaffirm that cycling, as a competitive sport, leisure activity or means of transport, is open to everyone, including transgender people, whom we encourage like everyone else to participate in our sport. . I would also like to reaffirm that the UCI fully respects and supports the right of individuals to choose the gender that corresponds to their gender identity, regardless of the gender assigned to them at birth, however it has the duty to ensure, above all, equal opportunities for all competitors in cycling competitions. This necessarily led the UCI to conclude that, since the current state of scientific knowledge does not guarantee such equal opportunities between of transgender athletes and cisgender participants, it is not possible, as a precautionary measure, to allow the former to compete in female categories”.