Cycling’s governing body UCI defends trans cyclist Austin Killips victory in women’s race

Sports cycling’s world governing body has defended a win by transgender cyclist Austin Killips by reaffirming its inclusion policy.

In response to accusations that allowing trans people to take part was “effectively killing off women’s cycling”, Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) said its transgender policy is “based on the latest scientific knowledge”.

The UCI was forced to defend its policy after Killips won a stage of the Tour of the Gila women’s race, in New Mexico, on Sunday (30 April).

The win sparked a wave of anti-trans outrage from pundits arguing that Killips’ victory would amount to the eventual destruction of women’s sports.

Those who described the win as “cycling’s Lia Thomas moment” – referring to the trans US swimmer – argued that the UCI’s guidelines, which state that trans women with testosterone below 2.5 nanomoles per litre are permitted to compete, was “not fit for purpose”.

A story in The Telegraph, written by Allison Pearson had the headline: “Transgender athletes in women’s sport are shameless cheats” and she went on to say: “In my book, athletes like Austin Killips are thieves – yet those whose prizes they take are being forced to maintain this mortifying charade.”

However, as representatives of the governing body explained, the guidance has been applied consistently for some time without the sport collapsing in on itself as a result.

“The UCI rules are based on the latest scientific knowledge and have been applied in a consistent manner,” a statement published on Tuesday (2 May) read. “The UCI continues to follow the evolution of scientific findings and may change its rules in the future.

“The UCI acknowledges that transgender athletes may wish to compete in accordance with their gender identity.”

Rules on transgender participation were, in fact, tightened in June 2022 after requirements were halved from five nmol/l for 12 months to the current levels.

The move followed the controversy surrounding UK governing body British Cycling’s decision to temporarily suspend trans women from elite female competitions.

Officials said that the decision was made pending a full review of their policy to “allow us time for further discussion with all stakeholders, including women and the transgender and non-binary communities”.

Now, following Killips’ win, the governing body has said a new eligibility policy will be announced later this month, following the consultation.

According to the BBC, the body could consider an “open” category for trans athletes, similar to British Triathlon’s policy.

However, those who oppose the concept, which has been viewed as exclusionary, have pointed to research suggesting that trans athletes do not pose a threat to sport.

A report from The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport revealed that male puberty shows little evidence of producing an inherent competitive advantage. Research suggests factors such as nutrition, training and exercise can have more of an effect than testosterone.

“There is not one discrete biomarker that allows easy comparison of athletes’ bodies to each other in terms of performance,” the report reads.