Sport: Cycling becomes first sport to impose stricter rules on trans athletes

Emily Bridges, formerly known as Zach, has been controversially competing as a trans athlete in the United Kingdom over the past two years. Photo / Getty

Cycling's governing body has become the first sport to update its eligibility rules for transgender athletes with stricter limits that will force riders to wait longer before they can compete after undergoing any transition treatment.

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced it was halving the maximum permitted plasma testosterone for trans women to compete in the female category from 5 nmol/L to 2.5 nmol/L and doubling the period they must remain below that threshold before being allowed to compete from one to two years.

The UCI said recent scientific studies showed that "the awaited adaptations in muscle mass and muscle strength/power" among athletes who have made a transition from male to female takes at least two years.

"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," the governing body said after a management board meeting.

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

It added that the adjustment "is intended to promote the integration of transgender athletes into competitive sport, while maintaining fairness, equal opportunities and the safety of competitions."

The rule will come into effect on July 1.

The International Olympic Committee updated its own guidance on transgender eligibility last November but left it to individual sports bodies to set their own rules.

The IOC said then that "athletes should be allowed to compete, but unfair advantage needs to be regulated."

Critics of transgender athlete policy have argued that some physical benefits are retained by women who have gone through male puberty.

Swimming's world body FINA is due to publish its own policy on transgender athletes on Monday.