Pro-cycling thread

Tbh I think these latest interviews from him since winning the worlds is the first time I've seen him speak to the media.

I think he speaks to Spanish language media much more. Probably precisely because he gets asked this kind of question.

I asked someone who’s answer I respect. Answer was that it’s great. So it’s great.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?destination=%2fopinions%2fdo-transgender-athletes-have-an-edge-i-sure-dont%2f2015%2f04%2f01%2fccacb1da-c68e-11e4-b2a1-bed1aaea2816_story.html%3fnoredirect%3don%26utm_term%3d.625e92c108b2&noredirect=on&utm_term=.625e92c108b2

Interesting interview with her here https://www.velonews.com/2018/10/news/qa-dr-rachel-mckinnon-masters-track-champion-and-transgender-athlete_480206

Main gist seems to be:

Its that the way that we think about human rights, in that legal and ethical standards of when it’s OK to override a person’s human right, is that the performance advantages aren’t high enough. ...

Is being trans just another natural physical characteristic that, if — and this is a gigantic “if” — it provides an advantage, should we treat it like just being tall? We do not regulate height. In many sports height provides a massive competitive advantage. I’m six-foot. I’m too short to be an elite volleyball athlete. If you compared a five-foot woman to a 6-foot-4 woman, the tall woman will have such a competitive advantage that the shorter woman won’t be able to compete in volleyball or basketball. But we don’t consider that massive advantage unfair. Is being trans just another way to be a natural person who maybe gets an avenge for it that we should treat like being tall?

I'm not fully convinced by her argument but I'm also not convinced that a bloke would go through years of hormone therapy to have a chance of winning at women's sport so I'm not sure how big an issue it is.

natural physical characteristic

years of hormone therapy

Erm.

Isn't it already covered under the Testosterone level check under IOC rules?

Semenya had to deal with this for example.

"In April 2018, the IAAF announced new rules that required hyperandrogenous athletes to take medication to lower their testosterone levels, effective beginning in November 2018.[81][82][83] Due to the narrow scope of the changes, which only apply to athletes competing in the 400m, 800m, and 1500m, many people thought the rule change was designed specifically to target Semenya.[84][85][86][87]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caster_Semenya#2018_testosterone_rule_change

To be honest hadn't looked it up in a while. Now wish i hadn't that is horrific treatment of a human.

Being born with high T levels is clearly different to having a sex change and altering your body chemicals though. I'm not sure how I'd feel if I was a woman beaten by someone born as a man but if Semanya has never taken anything and is a woman then why on earth can't she compete as she is?

No one bats an eyelid at 7ft tall basketballers or swimmers that wear size 20 shoes, why should a different type of genetic outlier be penalised?

I think the issue is whether an "inherited physique" (not sure if that is the right phrase) would give an advantage.

For example the article skinny posted (on running but I imagine carries over to sprint cycling) said:

Trans women who are sprinters may maintain something of an advantage over other female runners in that they tend to carry more muscle mass, potentially allowing for increased speed over short distances.

It's a tough call and should really be based on scientific studies rather than gut feelings either way.

There seemed/seems to be a lot of bike packing and cool aid with Taylor Phinney on there. Symptom/ cause, who knows.

Pidcock's eponymous CX team now sponsored by MAAP. So damn trendy.

https://blog.maap.cc/introducing-tp-racing-cyclocross-team

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maap

Interview with Lizzie Deignan and her baby girl (who lets her mother do most of the talking):

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/oct/19/lizzie-deignan-interview-motherhood-cycling-return

Read that this morning and was struck by just how little she had to say (or was asked to say).

Nothing about the state of women’s cycling? How are you going to break the Dutch domination? Why are domestic teams folding?

Presumably this was puff to promote her clothing range.

To be fair to her, she's only three months old.

Why would she be able to offer any meaningful analysis of why domestic teams are folding? She lives in Monaco and races globally.

Okay not a great example but still a very thin interview.

I agree completely, I couldn't believe a) how short it was and b) how devoid of content it was.

Anything interesting happen at teh track worlds?

superb and courageous run by @EmilyKay95 and @neahevans sees them seal Madison silver behind Denmark 🥈

What happened in the TP? Tyre swap, false start, then something else fucked up GB?

Emadi unclipped apparently

World Cup rather than World Champs, no?

Yeah, it's a cup but if I wrote everything out to its full extent I'd get my Aussie passport confiscated, wouldn't I, And?