The UCI Quietly Rolled Out More Restrictive Changes to Its Policy on Transgender Athletes
The UCI has adjusted its policy on the inclusion of transgender athletes in cycling.
The transition period on low testosterone has been extended to 24 months, from the previous 12-month period.
The UCI has halved the maximum permitted plasma testosterone level from 5 nmol/L to 2.5 nmol/L.
On June 16, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) adjusted its racing and competition policy for transgender athletes. The new regulations were outlined quietly in a press release and will go into effect on July 1.
The key changes are two-fold. First, the transition period on low testosterone has been extended to 24 months from the previous 12-month period. Second, the UCI has halved the maximum permitted plasma testosterone level from 5 nmol/L to 2.5 nmol/L.
This news comes just days before the world governing body for swimming is set to release their updated guidelines after a drama-filled season, according to The Washington Post.
The news, however, wasn’t released with great fanfare. The following paragraphs are buried deep in the press release titled “UCI Management Committee approves the Federation’s Agenda 2030 and awards the first UCI Gravel World Championships”:
In March 2020, the UCI published rules governing the participation of transgender athletes in events on the UCI International Calendar in the category corresponding to their new gender identity. Although these rules are stricter and more restrictive than those published by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2015, the UCI has begun consideration on their adjustment following the publication of new scientific studies in 2020 and 2021. The principle of eligibility of transgender athletes (in particular female athletes, ie those who have made a transition from male to female) is based on the reversibility under low blood testosterone (the level commonly observed in “born female” athletes) of the physiological abilities that determine sports performance, and on the time needed to achieve this reversibility.
The latest scientific publications clearly demonstrate that the return of markers of endurance capacity to “female level” occurs within six to eight months under low blood testosterone, while the awaited adaptations in muscle mass and muscle strength/power take much longer (two years minimum according to a recent study). Given the important role played by muscle strength and power in cycling performance, the UCI has decided to increase the transition period on low testosterone from 12 to 24 months. In addition, the UCI has decided to lower the maximum permitted plasma testosterone level (currently 5 nmol/L) to 2.5 nmol/L. This value corresponds to the maximum testosterone level found in 99.99% of the female population.
This adjustment of the UCI’s eligibility rules is based on the state of scientific knowledge published to date in this area and is intended to promote the integration of transgender athletes into competitive sport, while maintaining fairness, equal opportunities and the safety of competitions. The new rules will come into force on 1st July. They may change in the future as scientific knowledge evolves.
Moreover, the UCI envisages discussions with other International Federations about the possibility of supporting a research programme whose objective would be to study the evolution of the physical performance of highly trained athletes under transitional hormone treatment
The release then cites a position paper from Xavier Bigard, previous scientific advisor of the French anti-doping agency and former president of the French Society for Sports and Exercise Medicine (SFMES). He’s currently the medical director of the UCI. The 17-page statement covers several performance metrics, including VO2 max, and Bigard concludes:
Given the current body of knowledge, the question of when it is fair to authorize TransWomen to compete in sports in line with their experienced gender identity is challenging. Despite an obvious lack of knowledge in well-trained athletes, and based on the most recent current literature (Harper et al., 2021; Hilton and Lundberg, 2021; Roberts et al., 2020), it can be hypothesized that more than 12 months of testosterone suppression may be necessary to ensure that TransWomen do not have an unfair competitive advantage when competing at an elite level. Very little data have been provided to clarify on the potential remaining physical advantage for TransWomen after medical interventions, but based on one of the only published studies to date, it can be assumed that this potential advantage on muscle strength / power cannot be erased before a period of 24 months (Roberts et al., 2020).
The maximum serum testosterone concentration required is a fairly easy question to answer. The 95% confidence interval for serum testosterone in CisWomen is 0.6 - 1.68 nmol/L (Handelsman et al., 2018). For a 99.99% confidence interval (which involves no more than 1 in 10,000 values outside the confidence interval), the highest value of serum testosterone is 2.44 nmol/L. Therefore the maximum serum testosterone value can be defined as 2.5 nmol/L
UCI President David Lappartient also included a statement in the release, saying: “With the adaptation of new rules for the participation of transgender athletes in competitions on the UCI International Calendar, our sport has a regulation that is fully consistent with the most recent scientific knowledge in this area. It is indeed important in this field to rely on objective knowledge to reconcile the very real need for inclusion with the essential need for fairness.”
This decision has been met with displeasure on both sides. For riders who champion trans inclusion, it feels like a setback. For those who want trans women banned from competition entirely, it feels like ‘not enough.’
Furthermore, announcing this decision without a full press release or press conference to adequately answer questions and explain the reasoning feels as though the UCI has purposefully tried to downplay a decision that has momentous consequences for riders.
For Emily Bridges in the U.K., who began hormone therapy in 2021 and was physically threatened after trying to compete in the women’s category this season, she may now have to wait another two years to make it to the start line.
“We’d received no communication from the UCI on their plans and, specifically, how it impacts Em’s current application which has been part of the UCI process since March 2022,” Bridges’s team told ITV. “Given that the UCI requested, on May 11, Em provide additional blood tests (specifically over an extended period of three months) and detailed personal information... We are now seeking clarity on why they asked for this information when they were planning on a policy change.”
Bridges was barred from racing in the women’s category on short notice by the UCI earlier this March, reportedly due to her racing license, though she had been approved to compete by British Cycling. She learned of the UCI’s most recent decision through the media, and not from the organization directly.
While conversation around how to best ensure fairness and inclusivity in women’s sport is vitally important, it’s equally critical to remember that every athlete in question is a human being. Certainly, all discussions should begin with empathy and a desire for understanding, along with full transparency to the public. A real need for inclusion should be an open process, not a few paragraphs tucked away in a lengthy, multi-topic press release.
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