At least three transgender cyclists - biological men - participated in a women's relay race during the annual Marymoor Grand Prix in Redmond, Washington last week. The thing they said never happens, well, it happened again, as the three ‘women’s' teams featuring men took the top three spots on the podium.
Jerry Baker Memorial Velodrome, the venue of the race, is known for having a very strict "no bullying" policy, according to Reduxx. In other words, the venue promotes zero rules and regulations, such as allowing biological men to race against women, which is reportedly a common scene at races held at the velodrome.
Jenna Lingwood, Jordan Lothrop, and Eva Lin took full advantage of the opportunity as trans-identifying male cyclists and led their respective teams to the one-two-three spots on the podium during the women's high-speed two-person relay Madison race. All three competitors raced with female teammates.
Lothrop, who had been racing with men as recently as 2023, took first place honors with Lingwood and Lin finishing second and third, respectively. Lin was a former member of the men's cycling team at San Jose State University while Lingwood is the current women's masters 40+ national cyclocross champion.
In a photo shared on X by women's rights advocate account @i_heart_bikes, all 10 cyclists featured, including the biological women, can be seen smiling.
UCI, the world governing body for cycling, banned transgender athletes in July 2023 from participating in any of their events if the competitor had gone through male puberty. The UCI's change in policy came two months after British Cycling created an ‘open’ category for transgender cyclists to race in. The female category would be restricted only to biological women, including those who identified as transgender, but who had yet to undertake hormone therapy.
