Transgender cyclist Emily Bridges is set to compete at the National Omnium Championships in her first women’s event on Saturday, pitting her against five-time Olympic champion Laura Kenny.
Bridges is now eligible to compete in women’s events because she began hormone therapy last year as part of her gender dysphoria treatment to lower levels of testosterone. She is a provisional entry on the startling list for the event, which is held at the Derby Arena.
The 21-year-old previously set a national junior men’s record over 25 miles and was ultimately selected to join British Cycling’s senior academy setup in 2019. Bridges first came out in October 2020 and she has since spoken about wanting to change the culture and representation of transgender people in elite cycling.
While undertaking therapy, Bridges competed in men’s races and finished 43rd of 45 riders in the elite men’s criterium at the Loughborough Cycling Festival in May 2021. Last month, she competed in her final men’s race when she won a point’s event at the British Universities Championships in Glasgow - but competing in women’s sport was the goal.
“It was always the plan [to race in a women's event],” Bridges told Cycling Weekly this month. “After starting hormone therapy I didn't want to race in the male category any more than I had to - obviously, it sucks, getting dropped, racing as a man when you're not one. It was quickly apparent that was the wrong category for me.
“By the summer of 2020 I'd fallen out of love with the sport. I couldn't live like that any more - I couldn't be my true self.”
Bridges revealed she has received a mixed response since going public about her transition, although she claimed many female cyclists have sent supportive messages. According to Cycling Weekly, Bridges has been participating in a study at Loughborough University to track her own power data with reduced testosterone levels - and they reportedly show a 13-16% drop in her power outputs across six-second, one-minute, five-minute and 20-minute durations.
British Cycling's transgender regulations were updated in January this year, and they require riders to have had testosterone levels below five nanomoles per litre for a 12-month period prior to competition. The body also said the update to its policy was made following a ‘wide-ranging consultation’.
According to the NHS, men typically have between 10 and 30 nanomoles per litre - dependent on age and time of day - but a young healthy male’s level of testosterone will range from 20 to 30 compared to a female’s range of 0.7 and 2.8. Athletes who are transitioning take hormone suppressant medication to reduce their testosterone levels in order to be eligible for competition.
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British Cycling stand by their rules - but the body conceded more scientific research needs to be done in the area. A spokesperson said: “We believe that the updated policy reflects the current evidence available to us, however we acknowledge that more research into this area is required.
“For this reason we have committed to reviewing our policy annually, or more frequently as evolving circumstances dictate.”
Asked about transgender athletes, World Athletics president Lord Sebastian Coe claimed the ‘integrity’ of women's sport was at stake and its future was ‘fragile’. Coe called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to introduce stricter regulations that can be applied across every sport.
