{"id":552785,"date":"2025-11-06T11:27:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T11:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/552785\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T11:27:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T11:27:15","slug":"several-winners-of-cycling-uk-100-women-in-cycling-prize-decline-award-due-to-exclusion-of-trans-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/552785\/","title":{"rendered":"Several winners of Cycling UK 100 Women in Cycling prize decline award due to exclusion of trans women"},"content":{"rendered":"

Several people have turned down their nomination for Cycling UK’s annual 100 Women in Cycling award following the charity’s decision to exclude trans women and non-binary people from consideration, citing a Supreme Court ruling.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The ruling, delivered earlier this year,\u00a0found that the word ‘sex’, as\u00a0defined in the Equality Act of 2010, referred to biological sex rather than “certificated sex” and that trans people were protected from discrimination on the basis of gender reassignment rather than their sex.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And now, the far-reaching implications of the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in April have been felt within Cycling UK\u2019s 100 Women in Cycling, the active travel charity\u2019s annual awards list which recognises and celebrates the contributions of women, from all backgrounds and abilities, who promote and encourage cycling.<\/p>\n

\"CyclingCycling UK glow rides (credit: Cycling UK)<\/p>\n

Cycling UK says that women from \u201call walks of life and every corner of the cycling world\u201d make up the list, \u201cfrom mountain bikers and endurance cyclists to community group leaders, cycling school-run mums, and industry entrepreneurs.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the charity has confirmed that, following the Supreme Court\u2019s decision, this year\u2019s edition will feature only biological women, after Cycling UK \u201creceived legal advice that very clearly says that for our awards to comply with the law\u201d transgender or non-binary cyclists could not be included in the 2025 list.<\/p>\n

Cycling UK\u2019s decision to exclude trans women from its 100 Women in Cycling list has attracted criticism from the charity\u2019s own nominees. Several cyclists have publicly declining\u00a0their awards in recent days, including Dr Sarah Ruggins, the current outright record holder for riding from John o\u2019 Groats to Land\u2019s End and back<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I will not accept recognition from a committee that has chosen to align with the Supreme Court’s definition of “woman” as sex at birth”, said Ruggins in a statement posted to Instagram<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“This stance excludes trans women and other minorities, denying them the dignity, inclusion, and opportunity they deserve.”<\/p>\n

Megan Joy Barclay, the head of Women’s Development at Herne Hill Velodrome, also declined the award, saying in an open letter to Cycling UK<\/a>: “I hate the majority of policies in place but also don\u2019t have the expertise or influence to implement the racing world I\u2019d like to see.<\/p>\n

“But I always saw these awards as a celebration of grassroots and community power in the face of gender marginalisation \u2013 hateful laws have no place here.<\/p>\n

“I hope you will reconsider how these awards are run next year to ensure\u00a0all\u00a0women and non-binary people are included as we work towards better representation in cycling.”<\/p>\n

\"100100 Women in Cycling (Cycling UK) (credit: road.cc)<\/p>\n

More nominees also announced they’re declining the award in separate posts on LinkedIn.<\/p>\n

Athlyn Cathcart, founder of the Bristol-based mentorship program Roll Models, wrote<\/a>: “I am deeply saddened that the 100 Women in Cycling Award\u00a0has taken such a stance. Supreme Court ruling aside, it is Cycling UK\u2019s choice to include or exclude. Bikes are machines for freedom, and no one should be shut out.”<\/p>\n

A few hours later\u00a0Claire Sharpe, founder of All Terre Adventures, said: “Cycling is about freedom, connection, and belonging. Exclusion doesn\u2019t belong in that story and it\u2019s not what All Terre Adventures is about.”\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

In a video uploaded as part of her LinkedIn post, she added: “If they don’t wanna ride with all women, it’s not the kind of ride I wanna be on anyway.”<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Green Party councillor\u00a0Saskia Heijltjes also posted on Bluesky<\/a> that she had asked to remove her name from the awards list.<\/p>\n

>\u00a0Abuse and unsafe infrastructure preventing more women from cycling, Cycling UK report states<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The Supreme Court ruling in question refers to a decision made in April earlier this year, after a gender-critical campaign group brought a legal case challenging Scottish Government guidance relating to\u00a0gender recognition. The case hinged on the interpretation of the words ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in the Equality Act of 2010, and the consideration of transmen and trans women in relation to that definition.<\/p>\n

In his ruling, Lord Hodge wrote that the judgement was made on a technical point of legal understanding and was not\u00a0“a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another.” The ruling was welcomed by both the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition.<\/p>\n

The court did not adjudicate on whether trans women are considered women in non-biological contexts (for example in a recreational cycling club), or consider the status of intersex people who, according to a UN definition,\u00a0are born with biological characteristics that do not match “typical binary notions of male or female bodies”.<\/p>\n

Despite this, following the Supreme Court’s ruling, interim guidance was issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission recommending that schools, workplaces, and sporting bodies\u00a0ban trans men and women\u00a0from single-sex facilities matching their gender.\u00a0The guidance also recommended\u00a0that transmen and trans women should be barred from gay men’s spaces and lesbian spaces respectively.<\/p>\n

Prior to the Supreme Court decision, British Cycling announced the creation of an ‘Open category’ of its elite racing that would consolidate the men’s category whilst retaining a separate women’s classification that excludes transgender and non-binary competitors.<\/p>\n

>\u00a0British Cycling\u2019s new \u2018Open\u2019 category \u201cpatently designed to make sure that transgender women will compete at a major disadvantage\u201d, says \u201cperplexed\u201d transgender cyclist<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"CyclingCycling UK Jersey logo (credit: Cycling UK)<\/p>\n

In a statement following this week’s backlash,\u00a0Cycling UK defending the decision, saying that they had\u00a0“received legal advice that very clearly says that for our awards to comply with the law we can only feature biological women.<\/p>\n

“However, we’re very keen to stress that Cycling UK is absolutely dedicated to bringing the joy of cycling to everyone.”<\/p>\n

\"CyclingCycling UK Chief Executive Sarah Mitchell (credit: Cycling UK (Robert Spanring))<\/p>\n

The charity’s Chief Executive Sarah Mitchell added:\u00a0“This update to the rules doesn’t alter our strong commitment to supporting all those who cycle, including transgender and non-binary people.<\/p>\n

“We truly believe cycling is for all, and we’ll keep working towards that goal.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cycling UK are one of the oldest cycling charities in the world and\u00a0trace their roots back to 1878. They\u00a0have run the 100 Women in Cycling competition every year since 2017. Last year’s nominees included former world champion Emma Pooley, Bikeability Trust Chief Executive Emily Cherry and Rouleur magazine writer Rachel Jary. This year’s nominees are expected to be publicly announced later this month.<\/p>\n