Transgender cyclist Austin Killips won the 131-mile Belgian Waffle Ride in North Carolina by five minutes:
Austin Killips, 27, who recently became the first openly trans woman to win an official Union Cycliste Internationale stage event, won $5,000 after easily coming in first in the 131-mile Belgian Waffle Ride in Hendersonville on Saturday, Cycling News reported.Killips, who identifies as female, quickly took the lead in the women’s division before being passed briefly by Paige Onweller.Killips ultimately surged ahead and beat her by five minutes.Coming in third was Flavia Oliveira.
Onweller gave a nice interview after the race:
“Most of the day it was riding the top three women who were together, me Flavia and Austin. But yeah, I just kind of couldn’t match, you know, Austin and some of the single track and the power … just not comparable,” she said in an interview after the event.“So kinda got gapped maybe 50 miles from there was kind of alone a lot of the time. Had a couple guys ride with and yeah, it’s kind of settled in and kept motoring and yeah, I got second,” Onweller said.
In a recent blog post, Onweller expressed a desire for a separate category for trans athletes.
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) allows biological men to participate in women’s sports. However, it came under fire last month when Killips won the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico.
Females erupted after his New Mexico win, forcing the UCI to order a review of the rules:
The UCI said after a management committee meeting it is “reopening consultation with the athletes and national federations.”Cycling’s rules were changed last year to require transgender athletes to have serum testosterone levels of 2.5 nanomoles per liter or less for at least 24 months before competing in women’s events. The previous rule stipulated below five nanomoles for only 12 months.“The UCI’s objective remains the same: to take into consideration, in the context of the evolution of our society, the desire of transgender athletes to practice cycling,” the Switzerland-based organization said. “The UCI also hears the voices of female athletes and their concerns about an equal playing field for competitors, and will take into account all elements, including the evolution of scientific knowledge.”
Allowing biological men to compete in women’s cycling caused former champion Hannah Arensman to quit the sport.
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