The UCI announced that it will reopen consultation with riders and national federations on the subject of transgender athlete participation in cycling events. The decision was made following a recent Management Committee meeting held from May 2-4 in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy.
“The subject of the participation of transgender athletes in international competitions was discussed at the UCI Management Committee meeting. The Management Committee decided to analyse the current situation by reopening consultation with the athletes and National Federation. Members, therefore, agreed to debate and take an eventual decision at its next meeting, in Glasgow, in August,” the sport governing body said in the statement on Thursday.
“The UCI’s objective remains the same: to take into consideration, in the context of the evolution of our society, the desire of transgender athletes to practise cycling. The UCI also hears the voices of female athletes and their concerns about an equal playing field for competitors and will take into account all elements, including the evolution of scientific knowledge.”
Cyclingnews reached out to the UCI for additional information regarding who will be involved in the consultations, how the discussions take place, and on what platform, and if there was new scientific knowledge since UCI revised its policy on transgender participation in cycling in 2022, but it declined to comment further.
Transgender women are currently permitted to compete at UCI-sanctioned events in accordance with the sport governing body’s policy.
The UCI’s most recent guidelines came into effect in June 2022 (opens in new tab), which stipulate that transgender women athletes must declare that their gender identity is female, demonstrate that their total testosterone level in serum has been below 2.5 nmol/L for a period of at least 24 months, and then remain at 2.5nmol/L throughout the period of desired eligibility to compete in the women’s category.
The guidelines on transgender participation in Olympic sports are drawn from by International Olympic Committee (IOC), whereby the International Federations’ can structure their own policies, which differ between sports.
World Athletics and World Aquatics have recently announced that transgender women who have gone through male puberty can no longer compete in the female category at international events.
British Cycling suspended its transgender and non-binary participation policy (opens in new tab) last year, pending…
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