Trans cyclist steals win from female competitors in Women's Singlespeed at USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships

A trans-identified male cyclist emerged as the winner and took first place in Women’s Singlespeed at the 2023 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships.

Kylie Small, who previously called himself Kyle Small, was previously participating in men's races earlier in 2023, even as recently as April, Reduxx reports.

Small took 44th place in the CX Male Senior 18-22 category last cycling season, and has generally not done very well when performing in male races, according to the outlet.

This all changed on Dec. 8, when Small signed up as a "woman" to take part in the USA Cyclocross National Championships in Louisville, where he managed to take the gold award in the Women’s Single Speed, ending at 38 minutes and 19 seconds.

Meanwhile, the fastest female athlete in the race, Jennifer Malik, was forced to take second place.  

The Independent Council on Women's Sports (ICONS) called out USA Cycling, which ran the competition, for "prioritizing the preferences of male cyclists over the accomplishments and well-being of it’s female riders."

Small can be seen on video saying he decided to participate in the women's match because a coach had recommended for him to do so, to which he at first reacted with hesitation before later deciding, "that sounds like so much fun."

Various other instances of men beating women cyclists have been seen in recent months. A trans-identified male cyclist named Austin Killips won a professional women's cycling race in North Carolina in June, topping his closest female competitor by five minutes. Just a month later, a 48-year-old man named Todd Seplavy won a women’s cycling competition in Pennsylvania when he beat a 15-year-old girl to the finish line by about 12 seconds. 

More recently, two men won first and second place at the women’s SingleSpeed hosted by the Chicago CycloCross Cup in October. 25-year-old Tessa Johnson and 30-year-old Evelyn Williamson soon emerged victorious once again at the Illinois State Cyclocross Championship’s Women’s Singlespeed, taking first and second place once again at the Montrose Beach race on Dec. 3.