British Cycling said that Emily Bridges is not eligible to participate under current guidelines
Emily Bridges was previously known as Zach. © Huw Fairclough / Getty Images
A British transgender cyclist will not compete at the National Omnium Championships on Saturday, as confirmed by cycling’s world governing body.
Emily Bridges appeared set to take part in the competition against the likes of five-time Olympic gold medalist Laura Kenny.
But British Cycling revealed in a statement that the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) informed them that 21-year-old Bridges is “not eligible to participate in this event.”
The UCI explained to British Cycling that Bridges cannot compete in the National Omnium Championships because international rankings points will be allocated that she is not yet valid to earn given the process of confirming her eligibility is still ongoing.
“We have been in close discussions with the UCI regarding Emily’s participation this weekend and have also engaged closely with Emily and her family regarding her transition and involvement in elite competitions,” British Cycling said.
“We acknowledge the decision of the UCI with regards to Emily’s participation, however we fully recognize her disappointment with today’s decision.
“Transgender and non-binary inclusion is bigger than one race and one athlete – it is a challenge for all elite sports,” the organization stressed.
British Cycling confirm trans woman cyclist Emily Bridges is now unable to compete in National Omnium Championships- Told it is a ' technically' as Bridges has to wait until current UCI registration runs out to compete as a woman- But was talk of a boycott by GB female riders pic.twitter.com/URSXWWLQYr
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) March 30, 2022
Previously known as Zach, Bridges started hormone therapy in 2021 as part of gender dysphoria treatment and is now eligible to compete in women’s events due to lowered levels of testosterone.
At present, British Cycling’s transgender participation rules require riders to have maintained testosterone levels under five nanomoles per liter for 12 months before competition.
In May last year, Bridges finished 43rd out of 45 in the elite men’s criterium at Loughborough’s Cycling Festival and then second-to-last in the Welsh National Championship road race at least a full 12-kilometer lap behind the winner.
In February, however, she won her final men’s race at the British Universities Championships in Glasgow and also set a national junior men’s record in 2018 over 25 miles.
Alongside calls from World Athletics president Sebastian Coe for the International Olympics Committee (IOC) to bring in universal rules, after it decided last year to assign responsibility to individual sporting bodies, British Cycling has also demanded the formation of a coalition across sports to “find a better answer” to the dilemma of fair transgender participation.
“We also understand that, in elite sports, the concept of fairness is essential,” British Cycling said.
“For this reason, British Cycling is today calling for a coalition to share, learn and understand more about how we can achieve fairness in a way that maintains the dignity and respect of all athletes.”
Today we're calling for a coalition to address transgender and non-binary participation in elite sport, and can provide an update on this weekend's British National Omnium Championships. https://t.co/MYjV2scXfnpic.twitter.com/ETbxYVzIfK
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) March 30, 2022
Shortly before British Cycling made its announcement, UCI president David Lappartient confessed to BBC Sport he was “worried” about the effect that the inclusion of transgender athletes could have on fairness in competitive cycling, though he stressed that the governing body “fully recognizes the rights of transgender athletes to do sport”.
“We fully recognize the rights of people to change and to make that transition,” Lappartient clarified. “[But] I’m a little bit worried that [their participation in women’s events] will affect the fairness of competition.
“I believe that maybe the situation we have now, of the rules of five nanomoles per liter [to measure testosterone levels], is probably not enough,” Lappartient conceded.
“When I speak with some professors in medicine, some specialists, they say, ‘yes, your body probably has a memory already of what you are and so there is maybe some advantages’.
“But is there a memory from your body from what you were before – and do you have [an] advantage for this? Is it a bridge of fair competition?” Lappartient posed, while also informing the same outlet how numerous female cyclists registered concerns to the UCI over the fairness of competition while not accepting current controls.
According to The Guardian, the UCI’s decision arrives amid “growing backlash” to Bridges’ potential participation with numerous female riders discussing a potential boycott of the National Omnium Championships as they believed that she boasted an unfair advantage.
