Britain’s Cycling Time Trials bars transgender women from competing in female category

Cyclists hoping to compete in the female category must be assigned female at birth, cannot have undergone male puberty and must have a testosterone level below 2.5 nmol/L if tested.

Representative image: The International Cycling Union (UCI) allows transgender women with reduced testosterone to take part in female events. | Photo Credit: AFP

Britain’s Cycling Time Trials (CTT) banned transgender women from competing in the female category of competitive events on Wednesday, while renaming the men’s category to ‘open’ to “promote inclusivity and fair competition” in the sport.

Cyclists hoping to compete in the female category must be assigned female at birth, cannot have undergone male puberty and must have a testosterone level below 2.5 nmol/L if tested.

The newly formed open category will be for male athletes, transgender women and men and non-binary individuals.

“The Board of CTT will create a new body - a Gender Tribunal, to decide gender eligibility issues and provide sensitive guidance to those affected by this policy,” said CTT, the governing body for time trials in England, Scotland and Wales.

CTT’s decision comes weeks after British Cycling announced a similar policy.

“Here at CTT, we are committed to the promotion of inclusivity and a fair competition in sport. This decision underpins these such values and shows our collective support for women’s sport,” CTT chair Andrea Parish said.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) allows transgender women with reduced testosterone to take part in female events. The ruling body is due announce results of a policy review in August.