Tessa Johnson and Evelyn Williamson, both of whom identify as female and ride bicycles, finished first and second, respectively, in a competition for female cyclists held as part of the Chicago Cyclocross Cup series. Tessa Johnson’s time of 38:48 was good enough to win the CX Women SingleSpeed event, and Evelyn Williamson’s time of 40:20 was good enough to finish in second place. In addition, Johnson won the CX Women’s Cat 1/2 event, while Williamson came in fourth position. It is important to note that the event adhered to the standards for non-elite competition that were established by USA Cycling. These guidelines allowed participants to self-select their gender at the non-elite competition level.
This event takes place against the backdrop of constantly shifting policies regulating the participation of transgender athletes in sports. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), which is the world governing organization for the sport of cycling, recently revised its policy to exclude transgender athletes from competing at the elite level if they made the transition after reaching male puberty. UCI highlighted the lack of guarantees that therapies using hormone therapy would destroy any physical benefits obtained during male puberty as the reason for their decision. As a result of these developments, questions and debates over the participation of transgender athletes in a variety of sports have been sparked.