A Belgian court has ruled in favour of a cyclist who filed a lawsuit against the International Cycling Union (UCI) after she was banned from racing as a transgender woman. Now, she can get her licence back.
The Brussels Court of First Instance ruled in favour of a trans cyclist, who wants to remain anonymous, who took the international cycling organisation UCI and the Belgian cycling federation to court over her exclusion from races.
"The inclusion of trans people in sports competitions presents a new challenge for our society," said Liesbet Stevens, deputy director of the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men. "This issue deserves better than a simplistic solution that consists of systematically excluding trans women from women's sports competitions."
This approach, according to Stevens, is often "based on prejudice, lacks a solid scientific basis, and fails to respect the fundamental rights of individuals."
'Disproportionate and lacking scientific evidence'
Until mid-2023, the cyclist met the requirements to participate in women's races: the previous regulations from the international cycling organisation required very low testosterone levels for at least 24 months without interruption.
But since July 2023, stricter rules have been in effect: trans women must now also demonstrate that they transitioned before puberty, or at least before the age of 12 to be eligible to compete in the women's category. This change led to the revocation of the athlete's license and her immediate exclusion from women's competitions.
"This woman's cycling career ended overnight due to a change in the regulations. Not only for her, but for many others, we took this to court," Stevens said. "The Institute will continue to ensure that everyone can participate in sports in a fair and non-discriminatory manner."
Now, the court ruled that these regulations are discriminatory and declared them null and void. The judge stated that the conditions are "disproportionate, lacking scientific evidence, and unrealistic."
Credit: Belga
According to the court, these rules constitute a difference in treatment between transgender and cisgender (a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth) women. For such a difference in treatment to be legally permissible, it must serve "a legitimate purpose" and the rules must be "necessary" and "proportionate."
The judge acknowledged that the cycling organisation strives for fairness in female sports competitions, but found that the current rules go too far, and are not based on sufficient scientific evidence.
The court recalled that the UCI itself had warned about the lack of reliable scientific data on this topic and endorsed the need for new research. The medical director of this organisation has repeatedly stated that, based on current knowledge, it is impossible to confirm that trans women retain an advantage resulting from male puberty.
"It has not been scientifically proven that women's cycling races, in which both cisgender and transgender women participate, pose a problem for sporting fairness," the judge said.
'Unrealistic'
The judge also found that the requirement to transition before the age of 12 is "unrealistic," and that this requirement effectively excludes all trans women; many medical steps are only allowed from 16 years old in Belgium. In practice, the transition should begin at a very young age, through the continued use of puberty blockers.
The court's order is immediately enforceable and stipulates that the cycling organisation no longer has the right to refuse a license or participation in women's races based on these regulations.
The cycling organisation can still decide to appeal.
