On Yer Bike! 

Emily Bridges, a ‘transgender’ woman, was banned from racing in female cycling events after a crackdown on the rules by British Cycling. Although which rules allowed him to compete? How does a man get to compete in a race for women in the first place?

Basically, he was told to get ‘on his bike’. This is nothing but common sense, and it will now apply to all transgender women (i.e. men) who try to compete in the women’s category. Apparently, the previous transgender policy of British Cycling allowed riders to compete in the female category if they had testosterone levels below five nanomoles per litre for a 12-month period prior to competition. Did nobody see how wrong this policy was?

The most cursory biological analysis would confirm that males competing against females is a no-no. Men are taller and broader than women, allowing for more muscle. Their bones are larger and stronger. Male athletes’ body fat is around 4-12%, compared to women’s 12-23%. Men have larger skeletal muscles, coupled with larger hearts and lungs and a greater number of red blood cells, which absorb oxygen. This explains the 10-12% performance gap in sport between elite males and females, and why schoolboys regularly outperform female world record holders. 

If you had to highlight the area of greatest advantage, perhaps it is lifetime exposure to testosterone which helps regulate both muscle protein synthesis and muscle protein breakdown. Women’s testosterone levels are ten times lower than men’s, an advantage which persists regardless of testosterone levels being lowered in transgender athletes. Therefore, allowing biological men to compete in a women’s race is completely unfair. That is probably why there were two categories, male and female, in the first place.

There are plenty of cases where transgender athletes have dominated their events. Notably, these have all been transgender women; there seems to be a conspicuous absence of transgender men in athletics.

Transgender woman Austin Killips secured overall victory in the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico, USA in 2023–an elite race sanctioned by the sport’s world governing body, the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale). This was a women’s race, but Killips was allowed to compete. Another women competing claimed that she ‘left cycling’ as a result. In the UK we have our first transgender women’s ParkRun record holder, which was originally held by a 51 year old female runner. This sparked fury from the original athlete who held the record and she said that she felt ‘robbed’.

The story is the same right across the board. Whether it’s Lia Thomas smashing records in women’s swimming, Laurel Hubbard in female weightlifting, or Valentina Petrillo in sprinting – all of these are clearly male athletes, seeking an upgrade on their mediocre performance as men. 

The policy of allowing ‘transgender’ females and even males identifying as women to compete with women has been going on for some time now. While it is easy to understand the pressure organisers will be under not to appear ‘transphobic’, they have a duty to protect the interests of female athletes, many of whom have laboured their whole lives chasing a dream, only to have it cruelly snatched from them. 

I really hope that events like the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games, the Paralympics and even women’s football follow suit and start to tighten up on their inclusive policies, irrespective of the complaints they receive. I realise I may be treading on thin ice, but men are men and women are women, and all of them should have the right to compete fairly as they have done for centuries. There, I have said it.

Jack Watson is a 14-year-old schoolboy, who has a Substack about being a Hull City fan. You can subscribe to it here.

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