Women's cycling has gone off the rails. A Transgender "woman" Dr. Rachel McKinnon, won the women's 35-39 UCI masters track sprint world championship. Dr. McKinnon edged out two biological females, Carolien van Herrikuyzen of the Netherlands, and Jennifer Wagner of the United States.
Social media went crazy. Comments ranged from gender fluidity to political correctness, to the death of women's sport. I questioned the sanity of the UCI who allowed a biological male to compete with females, apparently with the acquiescence of USA Cycling, when cycling boasted a mantra of "fair play."
When Chris Froome tested positive for salbutamol no one cared. When Floyd Landis had a 4.1/1 testosterone/ epitestosterone ratio the UCI raced to fire up the carbon isotope ratio test. But, now the newly crowned Transgender women's track sprint master, Dr. Rachel McKinnon, is complaining about a dangerously low
endogenous testosterone level, "below a woman" that is impeding her performance. Dr. McKinnon is demanding an exemption from taking testosterone suppression drugs as a human right. Apparently, her fast twitch fibers were inhibited somehow and she wants to build a little extra muscle mass from the testosterone produced by the gonadal Leydig cells women do not possess. Dr. McKinnon wants total domination of female sport thanks to unnatural biological advantages Transgender athletes have acquired as men. This domination must be embraced by all female cyclists and cycling fanatics. Of course, the fact that biological women will suffer a penalty from this unnatural arrangement is of no concern to Dr. McKinnon. Perhaps, all future female cycling races will evolve into exclusive Transgender "women," athletic events.
Poor women's cycling. Hanging by a thread. In local criteriums, class 1, 2, and 3 women all raced together in a single race. The men had multiple teams in multiple races. The women's Tour de France has generated marginal interest. Now we have a man winning a woman's masters sprint world championship jersey. I am so sickened by this folly I could almost puke. How do we endear women to our sport if men are allowed to win every women's race? Who wants to watch a group of men masquerading as women in criterium races?
Women of the cycling world hear my plea: if a man enters your race, strike! Lay down your bicycles and leave the velodrome. Bernard Hinault would not have tolerated this bullshit for one instant! Women! You are being cheated. Refuse to ride! If the UCI doesn't like it tell them to pound sand!
The UCI should know better than to inflame women's passions. This is a mistake. The women cyclists on social media are angry! There is no reason to train for an important race if a man is going to participate and win. Women are not going to put up with this nonsense for long. Then, beware!
Carolien Herrikuyzen is the true world champion. Dr. McKinnon is a fraud, she should have never been allowed to participate. The master races are being trivialized, cycling will be mocked and ridiculed. Regain sanity, gender fluidity has no place in cycling!
UPDATE
Dr. Jennifer Wagner has tweeted that the UCI was wrong to allow a biological male to compete against women. Dr. McKinnon called Dr. Wagner a "transphobic bigot," a standard cliche and label Transgenders use when anyone is critical of their viewpoints. Carolien Herrikuyzen stated that the race was conducted under UCI rules and if anyone disagreed with the rules they need not race. Therefore, the race was "fair." Dr. Wagner is correct, the race was not fair, the UCI needs to change the rules, and women cyclists need to boycott races until the UCI makes the necessary modifications in the rules. Women's races are to include biological females only. Allowing men to race in women's races is cheating and far worse than doping.
