British Cycling bans trans women from female events

independent.co.uk:

British Cycling will prevent riders who were born male from racing in elite female events under a new transgender and non-binary participation policy published on Friday.The governing body’s new rules for competitive events, due to be implemented later this year, will see racing split into “open” and “female” categories, with transgender women, transgender men, non-binary individuals and those whose sex was assigned male at birth eligible to compete in the open category.The female category will remain for those whose sex was assigned female at birth, and transgender men who are yet to begin hormone therapy.The current men’s category will be consolidated into the open category, in which those whose sex was assigned as female at birth can also compete if they so wish.British Cycling suspended its previous policy last April amid controversy after transgender woman Emily Bridges sought to race at the national omnium championships as a female rider.The governing body’s new chief executive Jon Dutton, who has been in post for one month, said he was “sorry” for the anxiety and upset caused during the 13 months since.The policy is the result of a nine-month review which included a consultation process with riders and stakeholders, including members of the Great Britain team, as well as a study of available medical research led by British Cycling’s chief medical officer Dr Nigel Jones.That research was said to show a clear performance advantage for individuals who go through puberty as a male, and one which cannot be fully mitigated by testosterone suppression.British Cycling’s previous transgender policy allowed riders to compete in the female category if they had testosterone levels below five nanomoles per litre for a 12-month