Emily Bridges says she will take British Cycling to court if ban on transgender cyclists is not reversed
Cyclist spoke on TV for first time about new regulations since coming into effect
Photo by:
ITV
In her first broadcast interview since British Cycling altered the regulations concerning transgender cyclists participating in elite women’s events, Emily Bridges informed ITV’s Steve Scott that she intends to challenge the ban in court. During the interview, Bridges also expressed her readiness to escalate her case to the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that British Cycling’s rule change constitutes a violation of her human rights.
“I don’t care if I never compete again. It’s for other people who want to compete and it’s just about what’s right,” she added.
2023 new regulations
In May, the cycling federation introduced a policy restricting the involvement of transgender women in races designated for the female category. The policy stipulates that only individuals assigned female at birth are eligible to compete. This ruling came after a nine-month evaluation conducted by British Cycling.
Cyclists weigh in on UCI’s new policy to ban transgender athletes from women’s category
Emily Bridges had once aspired to chase Olympic glory in Paris this summer, according to the interview. “It’s not something I allow myself to think about too much because that part of my life is gone now, and it’s not something I really want to do anymore,” she said. “If we were allowed to compete, if I was allowed to compete, it would be a different conversation,” she added. “But I can’t compete. I can’t do something I used to love.
Fear for safety in open category
The new rules forbade transgender cyclists from competing with biogolical women, and resulted in an “open” category. To Bridges, however, that constitutes a ban.
“A ban is a ban. You can say you can compete in the open category, but we’re women – we should be able to race in the women’s category,” she said.
Bridges expressed concerns about her safety if she were to compete alongside men and disapproved of transgender women being compelled to disclose their identity in order to participate in the category.
Challenges studies
Bridges, who has undergone transition and is using testosterone blockers, challenges the validity of the peer-reviewed studies referenced by British Cycling and others. These studies purportedly show that transgender women who have suppressed testosterone maintain a performance advantage even after puberty.
Lance Armstrong weighed in on transgender athletes, and the Internet is not pleased
“How many of those studies are done on athletes,” she asked. “I have been part of a study, and the data will be coming out soon, and opponents of my inclusion have been trying to discredit all of the data.”
Bridges began racing at an early age.
“I was 10 when I started cycling competitively. I did a few sessions in a velodrome, and I was instantly hooked. Soon after, I began working my way up through the British cycling ranks, setting a national record in 2018 before joining the GB cycling team for a year in 2020. I left the team that year to transition, and in 2022, I was in talks to rejoin the GB cycling team with an eye on the 2024 Olympic campaign,” she told Vogue in August.
UCI followed suit
In July 2023 the UCI also enforced a prohibition on transgender women who have experienced male puberty from participating in competitive events under the female category. Simultaneously, they rebranded the men’s category as men/open.
Athletes who didn’t meet the criteria for the female category were now eligible to compete in the men/open category. According to the international cycling body, this decision stemmed from a review that didn’t confirm whether a minimum of two years of gender-affirming hormone therapy, aimed at achieving a target plasma testosterone concentration of 2.5 nmol/L, was adequate to completely negate the advantages of testosterone during male puberty. The UCI’s action follows similar policies implemented by World Athletics and World Swimming.
