Female cyclist speaks out after taking second place to biological male in women’s racing

Jane Page finished in second place in the women’s 19+ category in the second round of British Cycling’s (BC) Downhill National Series event at Fort William, Scotland, according to The Times.

Competitors are eligible to receive ranking points at this competition.

Coming in first place was biological male cyclist Maxine Yates, who is reportedly ranked first in the senior female category on BC’s website.

Page has since complained that BC is not following its own rules set forth for transgender athletes, and has called for Yates to be disqualified.

Page noted that it was hard to even get a hold of someone to lodge the complaint, but noted that she has now been informed that the matter has been passed on to the governing body’s compliance team.

A spokesman for BC said that their compliance team was investigating the matter.

In April, BC suspended its policy regarding the allowance of transgender athletes to compete in the gender division they identify with.

According to The Times, this policy was suspended on April 8. Before then, biological male athletes could compete in female divisions.

It’s board of directors "voted in favour of an immediate suspension of the current [transgender and non-binary] policy, pending a full review."

According to The Times: "BC is waiting for further clarification on the matter from the UCI, the world governing body."

The move came after athletes and others voiced their outrage with biological male cyclist Emily Bridges possibly being allowed to compete in a women’s national track cycling.

Yates told The Times that she had contacted BC following the suspension of their transgender policy to see if the athlete was still able to compete. BC reportedly said that Yates could compete, as the "policy was only going to affect new license applicants."

"As I already had a license and was not competing at an elite level, I was allowed to compete, that is what BC informed me," Yates said. "I’ve taken their advice at every turn and am disappointed BC have let this go on as far as it has. I have followed their rules."

Page said that the April 8 statement made no reference to existing or new licenses, nor did it suggest that the policy suspension only applied to elite-level races.

The Times noted that they have been sent evidence of other transgender athletes continuing to compete even after the suspension of the policy.

"BC are not enforcing their own rules," Page said. "Like a lot of women I feel let down. There were only a dozen or so women competing at Fort William, among more than 300 riders, but situations like this are hardly going to encourage more women to participate."

Yates also placed first at the TweedLove Enjoyro mountain bike race in the ebike division in April.