Transgender cyclist Emily Bridges plans legal action against British Cycling after category change
British rider revealed intentions in interview with Vogue magazine
Emily Bridges, a transgender cyclist from the U.K., is planning legal action against British Cycling following the recent changes to the women’s categories.
In May, the cycling federation announced a policy that limits the participation of transgender women in bike races designated for the female category. The policy specifies that only individuals whose sex was assigned as female at birth will be eligible for competition. This decision followed a nine-month evaluation carried out by British Cycling.
Vogue interview
Bridges was recently listed as one of the ’25 powerhouse women’ in Vogue. She also gave an interview with the outlet, saying she will not race anymore but plans on taking legal action against British Cycling.
Lance Armstrong weighed in on transgender athletes, and the Internet is not pleased
The interview, “I was banned from competitive cycling because I’m trans. hat won’t stop me fighting for my rights,” spoke about the cyclist’s past, and plans for the future.
Rode with national team
“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,” the article read.
Will now divest from sport of cycling
“However, in May 2023, news came that British Cycling, the national governing body for the sport, was placing a ban on transgender women competing in the women’s category,” Bridges said in the article. “Ihad foreseen it happening, but the confirmation was still devastating. Cycling competitively was my life for the past 12 years. But now, I’m divesting from the sport; I have to.”
Disagrees with science behind ban
Bridges claims that the science being used to support the ban is incorrect.
“Trans inclusion in sports has long been a highly contentious issue due to unsubstantiated concerns about transgender women having a physical advantage over cisgender women,” Bridges said. The cyclist vowed to, “fight the decision legally, in the courts.”
According to Bridges, transgender cyclists do not have an advantage over biological women. She cited a report by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport that “found that biomedical factors, such as bone density and lung size, do not pose an advantage for trans athletes, but that social factors, like nutrition and training quality, may do. I have dedicated my body to assisting research currently being undertaken at Loughborough University to shed more light on the issue.”
In July, the UCI also implemented a ban on transgender women who have undergone male puberty from participating in competitive events under the female category. Concurrently, they renamed the men’s category as men/open.
Those updated regulations took effect on July 17. Athletes who did not meet the criteria for the female category are now able to race in the men/open category. According to the international cycling body, the decision followed a review which did not confirm that at least two years of gender-affirming hormone therapy with a target plasma testosterone concentration of 2.5 nmol/L were sufficient to completely eliminate the benefits of testosterone during puberty in men. The move by the UCI followed similar policies enacted by World Athletics and World Swimming.
