The international sports cycling governing body issued a statement Friday banning males who identify as transgender from participating in women's international events.
Biological males who "transitioned after [male] puberty" will not be allowed to participate in events, Union Cycliste Internationale, the governing body for sports cycling, said Friday. The rules go into effect on July 17.
"From now on, female transgender athletes who have transitioned after [male] puberty will be prohibited from participating in women's events on the UCI International Calendar—in all categories—in the various disciplines," the statement read.
The organization decided earlier this month that the current "state of scientific knowledge" does not prove transgender hormone treatments would reduce the biological advantage males have.
"Given the current state of scientific knowledge does not guarantee such equality of opportunity between transgender female athletes and cisgender female participants, it was not possible, as a precautionary measure, to authorize the former to race in the female categories," UCI president David Lappartient said.
The decision comes after a transgender biological male in South Korea, Na Hwa-rin, made headlines by participating in a cycling race to prove males have a biological advantage.
"I am not honored. I am not proud of myself at all," Na Hwa-rin said. "I believe other transgender athletes would feel the same way. They may not want to admit it, but they’re being selfish. There is no honor as an athlete in that."
Na said the point of competing in the race was to "stir controversy" and "get my story heard by competing."
Last month in North Carolina, biological male Austin Killips won a women's cycling competition five minutes ahead of the runner-up.
"It was just a grueling effort. I am just really proud to lay it out there and get the result. I asserted myself and was able to get a gap early," said 27-year-old Killips, who came in first against biological women in a 137-mile-long North Carolina race called the Belgian Waffle Ride. Killips reportedly took the lead by mile 13 and held it for the rest of the race.
Paige Onweller, the runner-up who lost to Killips, said her "power is not comparable."
"Most of the day I was riding with the top three women together: me, Austin and Flavia," Onweller said. "But I just couldn’t match Austin—you know, the power is not comparable."
A Gallup poll released in June found that 69 percent of Americans now believe that transgender athletes should only be allowed to compete on teams aligning with their biological sex. The number marks a 7 percentage point increase from two years ago.
