A trans-identified male cyclist has won the Women’s Singlespeed national title at the 2023 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships, outraging women’s rights advocates. Kylie Small, formerly known as Kyle Small, had been competing in men’s races earlier this year.
Though Small has begun participating in women’s events, he was competing in the male division at USA Cycling competitions under his birth name as recently as April. Last season, Small came in 44th place in the CX Male Senior 18-22 division, and largely floundered while competing as a cyclist in men’s competitions.
But on December 8, Small competed as a “woman” at the USA Cyclocross National Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, taking gold in the Women’s Single Speed division with a time of 38 minutes and 19 seconds.
The fastest female in the race was Jennifer Malik, who was awarded second place. The results of the race led the International Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) to condemn USA Cycling for continuing to allow males to self-identify into the women’s category.
After the championship, Small was interviewed on his success in women’s cycling by Evie Edwards, a representative from ICONS.
Smalls made no mention of his sex, instead crediting his win to “pushing gaps” and “clean dismounts.” During the interview, Small stated that the idea to compete in the women’s single speed competition came from one of his coaches who persuaded him to join the competition.
This is not the first time a male has taken first place in a women’s cycling championship in recent months.
Just weeks ago, two trans-identified males dominated a women’s category at the Illinois State Cyclocross Championships, topping the podium in the Women’s Single Speed category and taking home medals set aside for female racers. Tessa Johnson and Evelyn Williamson placed first and second, respectively, in the competition, leaving space for only one biological woman – Kristin Chalmers – on the podium.
Johnson also seized the gold in both the Women’s Single Speed and Category 1/2 races at the Chicago CycloCross Cup in October, with the latter also coming with $150 in prize money.
In June, trans-identified male Austin Killips took first place in the women’s category of a North Carolina cycling tour known as The Belgian Waffle Ride, adding to his expansive list of victories against female cyclists. Killips also placed first in the 2022 Tour of the Gila, an internationally-recognized elite cycling competition. Notably, the 2022 Tour was the first in the competition’s history where the prize money for both the male and female categories was equal. But following Killips’ win, two biological males walked away with the prize pots.
But the issue of males dominating women’s cycling competitions is not isolated to the United States.
Emily Bridges and Lilly Chant, two trans-identified males, took the first and second place spots, respectively, at the ThunderCrit race at the Herne Hill Velodrome in London in June of 2022. Jo Smith was the only female to step onto the winner’s podium, and was seen standing at third place with her child in a photo that began to circulate on social media after the race had finished.
In March of this year, after British cycling announced their plans to ban males from female cycling competitions, Bridges responded in a statement posted on his social media, calling the move a “violent act” and claiming British Cycling was furthering trans “genocide.”
USA Cycling also recently announced an update to their policy regarding trans-identified male athletes competing in women’s competitions.
Announced in June, the update will come into effect on January 1 of 2024. In a statement, the sporting body said that “trans athletes” will be divided into two categories; category A and category B. Category A cyclists will be required to reduce their testosterone below 2.5 nmol/L for at least two years and provide medical evidence of this at least 3 months before a competition. Category B cyclists will only need to complete a gender self identification form to move from the male competitions to the female competitions. These standards only apply when competing domestically.
Commenting on the policy update, USA Cycling’s CEO said: “The revision of our Transgender Participation Policy was a complex process guided by several factors. Foremost was the direction of our Board of Directors, who asked us to prioritize the balance between fairness and inclusion.”
“Our work encompassed a study of the UCI’s most recent review of the latest scientific literature, an assessment of the U.S. legal environment and similar policies from other sports organizations, and outreach to our athletes, club and team managers, and event organizers. As U.S. law and scientific findings evolve, we will use this as an opportunity to do further review and revisions of this policy as needed.”
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