After a nine-month investigation and review, British Cycling will ban transgender women from the female category in a change that will be implemented by the end of the year, the BBC reported.
Under a new policy that the governing body claimed was “predicated on fairness,” trans women athletes will compete in an “open category” with men. The female category will be “for those whose sex was assigned female at birth.”
The changes will prevent rider Emily Bridges—the country’s highest-profile transgender cyclist—from potentially being part of the British women’s team. In 2022, the UCI stopped Bridges from competing in her first elite women’s race even though she meet the rules at the time.
British Cycling’s policy had allowed transgender women to take part in elite female events if they met testosterone-based regulations.
—Andrew Davis