The UCI will introduce stricter guidelines for transgender women's participation in the women's category of cycling, halving the plasma testosterone limit from 5 mol/L to 2.5 nmol/L and doubling the transition period from 12 months to 24 months.

The new rules will take effect July 1, 2022, after the UCI excluded Britain's Emily Bridges from the national championships in April, suggesting there might be changes because she did not meet the requirements to race as a woman.

The UCI announced the decision as part of the federation's Agenda 2030 following a steering committee meeting in Arzon, France, June 14-16.

The UCI issued guidelines (opens in new tab) on transgender women's participation in cycling two years ago when it lowered the plasma testosterone limit from 10 nmol/L to 5 nmol/L.

In a recent press release following the Steering Committee meeting, UCI stated that it had begun considering stricter rules following the publication of what it called "new scientific studies" in 2020 and 2021.

According to the release, the principle of eligibility for transgender female athletes to compete in the women's category is based on the reversibility under low blood testosterone of physiological abilities that determine sport performance and the time required to achieve this reversibility.

"The latest scientific publications clearly demonstrate that endurance markers return to "female levels" within 6-8 months under low blood testosterone, whereas muscle mass and strength/power adaptations take much longer (at least 2 years according to recent studies)."

"The UCI statement stated.

"Given the important role that muscle strength and power play in cycling performance, the UCI has decided to extend the low-testosterone transition period from 12 to 24 months. In addition, the UCI decided to lower the maximum allowable plasma testosterone level (currently 5 nmol/L) to 2.5 nmol/L. 15]

"This value corresponds to the maximum testosterone level found in 99.99% of the female population."

The UCI also decided to reduce the maximum allowable plasma testosterone level to 2.5 nmol/L.

The UCI added that its eligibility rule changes are intended to facilitate the integration of transgender athletes into competitive sports while maintaining equity, equal opportunity, and competition safety. He also mentioned the possibility of working with international athletic federations to begin supporting research programs to study the evolution of physical performance of highly trained athletes undergoing transitional hormone therapy.

The decision to expand the requirements for transgender women comes three months after Lapartiento said in an interview with The Guardian that she has been under pressure from women who oppose the current participation standards for transgender women. So we are in between."

The decision to expand the transgender women's participation criteria was made by the National Transgender Women's Association, which is a nonprofit organization that works with transgender women to promote their rights.

In a press release on Thursday, Lapartiento said the new requirements are "fully consistent with the latest scientific findings in the field," and the press release linked to a report by UCI Medical Director Professor Xavier Bigard (opens in new tab) as the source

Bigard's report cites numerous scientific studies that seek to examine the performance gap between men and women and how that gap is altered when trans women receive hormone therapy. Bigard acknowledges that there is a paucity of data on changes in the transitional performance gap as it applies directly to cycling.

However, one review is heavily cited in Bigard's report. It was written by Swedish researchers Emma Hilton and Tommy Lundberg, both of whom are vocal opponents of the inclusion of trans women in women's sports.

Hilton and Lundberg's review was criticized for its non-disclosure of conflicts of interest on the topic, omitting important information showing that the reduction in performance gaps after hormonal transition is substantially reduced when controlled for height. They correctly announced several months later that there was no conflict of interest because their opinion was "an essential part of academic freedom."

The same review was cited by the Union Cyclist Feminine (UCF), a group loosely affiliated with the Inga Thompson Foundation and "Save Women's Sports."

Marion Crinier, head of Union Cyclist Feminine, in response to a question about a letter asking the UCI to rescind its rule allowing trans women to compete in the women's category and to base eligibility for women's races on "female biological characteristics," Hilton and Lundberg referred Cycling News to a study conducted by Lundberg.

After UCI announced the rule revision, it quickly became clear that, in the opinion of Lundberg, Hilton, and UCF, doubling the transition period and reducing the testosterone limit was not enough.

Hilton criticized the UCI's decision on Twitter, saying, "So this is random. Scientific evidence shows that even 1 nM (testosterone - editor's note) has negligible muscle/strength loss. The advantage lasts at least 3 years (the limit of the longest study)."'2.5nM for 2 years' has no rational basis. Hey lads (since it was men who decided this), why don't we throw a dart at a spinning board and see where it hits, that's nice, anyone got a better idea?"

"In this field, we rely on objective knowledge to reconcile the very real need for inclusion and the fairness of the It is really important to reconcile the intrinsic need for inclusion with the intrinsic need for equity."

"The need to be able to understand the needs of the community, the needs of the community, the needs of the community.

Lundberg tweeted. At least here they pretend to cite studies. There is nothing to suggest that the advantage in muscle mass and strength will disappear after two years." The UCF account retweeted the post.

Cycling News asked Canadian cyclist and human rights activist Kristen Worley, gender rights advisor to the Cyclist Alliance, to comment on the UCI's new guidelines and Bigard's recent report.

"Isn't it nice to be able to take a big bow to everything," said Worley, noting that the guidelines attempt to put solutions in place without considering the long-term health implications for transgender female athletes.

"They create a transgender lens, target it as a label, and somehow have to address this and try to find accommodations within the system to accommodate these athletes. We need an integrated approach, not a accommodative approach. We see physicians, and many others, trying to articulate and manipulate human physiology to accommodate the idea of participation in sport.

"Prevention, long-term health and well-being, and long-term sports participation have never been mentioned. They are talking about reducing hormones, putting a two-year diagnosis on something, sustaining that harm for two more years, and then saying they can participate in competition. Their bodies will slow down even more, and there will only be an ongoing, long-term acceleration effect for 10 or 20 years."

Worley believes that the prescribed plasma testosterone maximum is random because testosterone uptake by the androgen receptor varies among individuals.

[25] "It doesn't matter if it is 2.5 nmol/L or 5 nmol/L. The way one person absorbs testosterone is different from the way another person absorbs it. Receptor uptake is the main issue here, and one person may have a response from what the body is producing at 5 nmol/L, while another may be less sensitive to uptake and ground out at even 10 nmol/L. It is problematic that the guidelines do not address the long-term effects of these limits."

Although the UCI states that the new guidelines are based on the latest scientific findings, Worley believes that their decisions do not involve sufficient scientific research and that the sports governing bodies are making rules based on politics.

"Hormone transitions were never designed for sporting purposes. The guidelines are agenda-driven and aligned with the political issues [of cycling]," Worley said.

"The narrative of the guidelines speaks to safe and fair sport. They don't talk about health, wellness, prevention, or long-term sports participation. [There is no scientific basis or research for what they are doing. It is all performance-based and does not consider long-term health impacts"

. [The document says nothing about prevention, personal health and well-being, impact on personal health, or protection. It is inhumane.

"We need to pivot as a sports organization and elevate the conversation.