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A former women’s cycling champion angrily quit the sport after losing to a transgender rider — a decision followed just days later by another trans cyclist declaring she felt like a “superhero” for her women’s race win in New York.

Champion cyclocross rider Hannah Arensman bolstered her decision with a statement in a Supreme Court filing on the issue.

“I have decided to end my cycling career,” Arensman said last Wednesday.

Cyclocross rider Hannah Arensman's statement.

She said in her last race, in the elite women’s division of the UCI Cyclocross National Championships in late December, she “came in 4th place, flanked on either side by male riders awarded 3rd and 5th places.”

“My sister and family sobbed as they watched a man finish in front of me, having witnessed several physical interactions with him throughout the race,” she wrote, in a statement also shared by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS).

“Additionally, it is difficult for me to think about the very real possibility I was overlooked for an international selection on the US team at Cyclocross Worlds in February 2023 because of a male competitor.”

She said that it “has become increasingly discouraging to train as hard as I do only to have to lose to a man with the unfair advantage of an androgenized body that intrinsically gives him an obvious advantage over me, no matter how hard I train.”

“I feel for young girls learning to compete and who are growing up in a day when they no longer have a fair chance at being the new record holders and champions in cycling,” she wrote.

“I have felt deeply angered, disappointed, overlooked, and humiliated that the rule makers of women’s sports do not feel it is necessary to protect women’s sports to ensure fair competition for women anymore,” she wrote in the filing.

On Saturday, trans cyclist Tiffany Thomas, 47, was photographed with her arms aloft in victory at the top of the podium at the Randall’s Island Crit — at least her 20th win since she started racing in 2018, while already in her 40s.

The NYC-based biologist posted photos of herself in full flight from the race while wearing the bright orange team kit of her team sponsor, LA Sweat.

“I’m not going to lie, sometimes it made me feel like a superhero when I wore it,” she said alongside one image of her fully focused in the NYC race.

Tiffany Thomas on the podium after Saturday's Randall's Island Crit.
Tiffany Thomas on the podium Saturday after winning the Randall’s Island Crit.
Instagram/Tiffany Thomas

“Playing bikes with friends is what this sport is all about,” the self-styled “fancier of fitness” wrote alongside another.

Thomas — who also regularly posts pics of her weightlifting — received love and support in response to her messages, with one person writing: “You are a superhero and one of the smartest scientists I know!!”

Tiffany Thomas poses in cycling gear.
Thomas started racing in 2018 when she was already in her 40s.
Instagram/Tiffany Thomas

But her win soon started a severe backlash — with an NYC cycling outlet that posted her podium pics disabling the flood of angry comments.

One critic said they “feel so bad for woman athletes in America that have trained their entire lives” to lose out to transgender athletes who some experts say carry a genetic advantage even after hormone therapy.

“We are destroying woman’s rights in America,” the anonymous critic tweeted.

Protesters holding sign saying

Thomas’ win comes amid protests at trans athletes in women’s sports.

Women's cycling champ quits after loss to trans rider; another trans winner days later in NY race (nypost.com)

AP

Desperation met stupidity on the corner of bad luck and despair, and the democratic party was born.

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@Mikus posted:

How embarrassing for that man who has to call himself a woman to be able to win a race.  He is such a loser that he can't accept that he isn't good enough to beat men, so turns to the only ones he can beat, women.  Next he will be entering elementary school track meets.  Just sad for women everywhere.

It's no surprise that the only way liberals can win anything is by cheating. It's hard to pick a favorite, but one of mine is the one from New Zealand. Imagine getting into trouble for calling it a man just because it says it's a woman.

Trans weightlifter Laurel Hubbard makes New Zealand Olympic team - OutsportsTokyo Olympics: Backlash against Laurel Hubbard's weightlifting inclusion leads to 'no-win' situation, says transgender rights and policy expert | Newshub

Last edited by giftedamateur
@Mikus posted:

How embarrassing for that man who has to call himself a woman to be able to win a race.  He is such a loser that he can't accept that he isn't good enough to beat men, so turns to the only ones he can beat, women.  Next he will be entering elementary school track meets.  Just sad for women everywhere.

Why aren't women, who "identify' as male and 'transitioning to male' competing in men's sports?

Last edited by giftedamateur

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