Legal victory for Belgian transgender athlete barred from participating in women's competitions

She will once again be able to ride her bike and take to the roads of Belgium. The country's courts have ruled in favor of a transgender cyclist who sued the International Cycling Union (UCI) for discrimination after it refused to issue her a license to compete in women's competitions. The dispute, settled this month by the Brussels Civil Court, dates back to 2023, when the cyclist was notified that her license had been revoked and she was barred from women's competitions based on new UCI regulations.

At the time, the international organization questioned the supposed advantage given to transgender women in competitions by having reached puberty as a boy. In July 2023, it imposed on transgender athletes, in order to compete in the female category, to be able to prove that they had "begun their transition before puberty or, in any case, before the age of 12." This was in addition to the existing requirement to display very low testosterone levels.

However, the complainant, born a boy in 1974, made her gender transition in her early forties. This measure, leading to her exclusion, constituted discrimination.

In an interim order dated July 10, the court ruled in her favor, deeming her action against the UCI admissible and well-founded. This chapter of the UCI's medical regulations on "eligibility rules for transgender athletes" establishes "discrimination prohibited" by Belgian law, under a December 2008 decree on gender equality, the court ruled.

Consequently, these rules are declared "null" and the UCI no longer has any justification for refusing the complainant's participation in a women's cycling competition, it is emphasized in a copy of the order communicated to the press on Tuesday, July 22. The order is "directly enforceable" and sets a precedent in Belgium, welcomed the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men, which was a civil party in the case.

The Belgian Cycling Federation, cited in the complaint for refusing to renew its license, was not convicted in this case, as the court ruled that it had merely applied UCI rules. However, the organization announced that it had begun discussions with the International Cycling Union "regarding the future application of the regulations."