News and Events > Arts & Entertainment News

Defiant trans cyclist dreaming of Commonwealth Games berth for Wales despite ban

(1/1)

Northern Star Girl:
  Defiant trans cyclist dreaming of Commonwealth Games berth for Wales despite ban

                                  MIRROR   
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/other-sports/cycling/trans-cyclists-commonwealth-games-dream-28634578 
 
By Benjamin Goddard
  22:25, 1 Dec 2022 

Excerpts below:   (Click NEWS Link above to view the entire story)
Transgender cyclist Emily Bridges was thrown into the limelight earlier this year when she was banned by the sport's governing body for competing in her first women's national event.

Bridges received death threats after after the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) banned her from competing in the National Omnium Championships in April against the likes of Laura Kenny.

The Welsh cyclist spoke about being 'relentlessly demonised' after being banned from competing at the event. However, she remains defiant and chasing the dream of representing Wales at the Commonwealth Games.

Bridges said: "I’m still here. I’ve had all the opportunities to leave cycling, but I’ve never wanted to. It’s just part of who I am. I love Wales and it’s a dream to be in that Welsh jersey in the Commonwealth Games."

The Welsh cyclist began hormone therapy last year to lower her testosterone levels. She added: ‘I’m aware I have other traits and attributes to other female riders, but they aren’t so widely different that it makes competition unfair. A reduction of testosterone creates a fair playing field.                         

Allie Jayne:
A few years ago the cycling authorities in Britain determined that MTF trans cyclists were actually at a disadvantage as their efficiency is lowered by having slightly larger muscle mass, but only the same blood oxygen capacity as cis women. It would seem that this science is the same, only the politics have changed.

Hugs,

Allie

Kalandrina:
I cycle a lot and as we know having only been on hormones a year she will of course still have a huge amount of male muscle mass. It takes time for all that to change and making sure that you are below a certain level for x number of years will help. I am in a position cycling Esports that i am required to get my T levels under a certain limit, but i know that if i don't then my muscle ability is far superior to a CIS gendered woman, but as i loose muscle mass i am facing issues of trying to keep up now with how i could perform a year ago.

Allie Jayne:

--- Quote from: Kalandrina on December 08, 2022, 01:05:06 pm ---I cycle a lot and as we know having only been on hormones a year she will of course still have a huge amount of male muscle mass. It takes time for all that to change and making sure that you are below a certain level for x number of years will help. I am in a position cycling Esports that i am required to get my T levels under a certain limit, but i know that if i don't then my muscle ability is far superior to a CIS gendered woman, but as i loose muscle mass i am facing issues of trying to keep up now with how i could perform a year ago.

--- End quote ---

Studies show that with a few months of starting transition level HRT, haemoglobin levels in MTF people quickly fall to Cis female levels, and this means larger muscle mass becomes inefficient. Sort of like trying to run a v8 engine on 4 cylinder fuel supply. This becomes critical in elite athletes, and especially in endurance sports. Cycling authorities have known this for a few years.

Hugs,

Allie

Iztaccihuatl:

--- Quote from: Allie Jayne on December 07, 2022, 05:55:58 pm ---A few years ago the cycling authorities in Britain determined that MTF trans cyclists were actually at a disadvantage as their efficiency is lowered by having slightly larger muscle mass, but only the same blood oxygen capacity as cis women. It would seem that this science is the same, only the politics have changed.

Hugs,

Allie

--- End quote ---

I am not sure if post-HRT trans persons have a larger muscle mass than cis persons, otherwise trans women in particular would have a significant advantage in non-lactate producing sports, like weightlifting or 100 meter sprints, since in those sports everything is already over by the time the lungs receive the order to produce more oxygen. I have not read any reports of trans women dominating these events (New Zealand's Laurel Hubbard didn't win any medals either at the 2020 Olympics). I think the muscle mass diminishes at a similar rate as the reduction in hemoglobin and after a year of testosterone suppression there is no measurable significant difference between trans and cis persons.

You are right, however, that trans persons are at a disadvantage in some areas. The skeleton is one example, men have a heavier skeleton than women and the bones do not change as a result of HRT. So a post-HRT trans person now has female muscles trying to operate a heavier male skeleton.

Another area is lung capacity. Men have a larger lung capacity, but with a reduction of hemoglobin caused by HRT, there is no way to transport all that oxygen away, so operating a large lung is inefficient for a post-HRT trans woman.

Hugs,

Heidemarie

Navigation

[0] Message Index