The International Cycling Union (UCI) will host a roundtable discussion among key stakeholders in cycling that could see the sport move toward a stricter policy governing the participation of transgender women competing in the women’s category in high-level competition.
In an interview with Cyclingnews on Wednesday, UCI President David Lappartient outlined some of the details surrounding the roundtable meeting, including those invited to attend and the discussion topics. He confirmed that central to the discussion will be whether the current rules on transgender inclusion in the women’s category have an impact on fair competition.
“Are we able, today, to guarantee fair competition? I can’t answer ‘no,’ but I can’t answer ‘yes’”, Lappartient said. “That is why on our side, we are an international federation, we have to make solid decisions based on the current knowledge, and this is why we want to revisit the situation to review, to revisit our position and take a decision in the next coming months, probably at the beginning of July. But we want to integrate an open discussion with all the stakeholders.”
A report following the discussion could affect the decision made on transgender participation rules at the next UCI Management Committee Meeting, which will be taken either ahead of or at the Glasgow World Championships.
However, Lappartient did not confirm when any potential changes to the existing rules, if any are made, would come into effect.
“For us, there are three key points to consider. The first one that is really key is that we fully respect the right of any person to make a transition, to decide the way they want to live, and this has to be with no discrimination – it’s also written in our constitution. We fully respect the right of anyone to transition. The second point is that for transgender people, we welcome them into the cycling community,” Lappartient said.
“But the third point is the right to take part in high-level competition. Is it a fundamental right, and in which way would this affect fair competition? This third point is the one we want to answer – we want to be clear about the first two points – it’s just about how we can ensure fair competition, and that is what we have to discuss. I wanted to make it clear that we are only focused on this and not on any kind of discrimination. We are in favour of inclusion, and [trans athletes] are more than welcome in the world of cycling.”
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