CTV News Staff- A woman who was a man just six years ago has won a spot on the Canadian women's downhill mountain biking team.Michelle Dumaresq, who had a sex change in 1996, has been permitted to represent Canada at the World Mountain Biking Championships being held this month in Kaprun, Austria.
CTV News: Transgendered mountain biker battles to compete as a woman 2:04 MinThe Vancouver cyclist certainly has an impressive record in her first year of competition: in just six races, she has finished first twice, and placed second twice. She says she's just glad to be on the team.
"I'm really excited," she told BC-CTV. "It was one of my goals this year, so it's awesome."
But the announcement has brought outrage from some of the sport's top female riders who say Dumaresq, 32, should not be allowed to compete against women.
Two of Dumaresq's teammates, Sylvie Allen, who's the reigning Canadian champion, and Cassandra Boon are leading a formal protest against Dumaresq's spot on the team.
"I don't believe, personally, that it's fair," says Boon. "I just don't believe you can change the way that you were born and that you can completely turn yourself into the other sex."
Allen and Boon recently called on the sport's international governing body, the International Cycling Union, to ban Dumaresq from competing against women.
They say they don't want the ICU to prohibit Dumaresq from competing altogether, but recommended they create a new category, called "transgendered," for her.
They cited medical evidence they claim proves Dumaresq's male past gives her a physical edge.
But Dumaresq says she couldn't compete if she thought she wasn't racing fair.
"If I did have a competitive advantage, my conscience would never let me do this," she tells BC-CTV.
"The fact that I'm transgendered, it's just part of my history. I'm a woman. I'm also a bike racer. And I happen to be a pretty good one," Dumaresq says.
