I thought I’d put this here instead of in the “Other” sports section, mainly because it made the main news sections of the papers.
This month, CCA (Canadian Cycling Association) ruled that Michelle Dumaresque should be eligible for the Canadian National team to compete in the World Championships. Dumaresque is a downhill racer. Dumaresque is a transsexual, and underwent a sex change operation something like 6 years ago. Dumaresque was the 2001 Elite Women’s National DH Champion, and placed second this year to Sylvie Allen.
There has been debate as to weather or not Dumaresque should be eligible. I’m on the fence.
On one hand, Dumaresque has all the right biological parts to be technically classified as a female. Sexually, Dumaresque has a female anatomy, and has the right “parts”.
Here’s my beef: DH racing is very much a sport of strength, as much as skill. It should be argued that Dumaresque honed his skills as a male racer. Male DHers, typically, can push the physical limits of DH further, simply because we are stronger. We can push bigger gears, and manhandle the bike better. DH is not necessarily a sport of finesse, but more of brute force. Also, men have always tended to be quite a bit more daring at attempting the larger drops and “hucks” associated with downhill, and have always pushed larger limits. If a person has trained as a man, has trained at higher speeds, at a higher level of difficulty, and with a stronger physical frame, that person will no doubt have not only a physical advantage, but also a psychological advantage if he gets changed to a she.
I also feel it takes away from the accomplishments of riders like Sylvie Allen. If you ever meet Sylvie on the street, you’d probably do a double take. This is a petite girl that could step into most modeling or fitness magazines. She’s a very nice looking girl. I’ve also trained with her, and she has no doubt gotten to where she is because she continuously tries to improve technically, is very fit for the extreme anaerobic effort required for a 4-8 minute DH race, and has great pedaling speed for open sections. She trains hard. But, when it come to some of the areas of a ride where the stunts appear in a trail that normally wouldn’t appear in a race (a big drop, for example), Sylvie skips the stunt altogether. Also, in steep, Shore style DH sections with switchbacks and drops, she’ll either walk the section or take it extremely cautiously.
This isn’t a slight at Sylvie at all- she is very fast (faster than I am in most DH races), and is an elite female athlete. I just think that, considering Dumaresque’s background, she definitely has an unfair advantage. All the more props to Sylvie for beating Dumaresque this year.
Anyone have any opinions? I’m sort of on the fence here.
Dude- notcuttingoffhisboysanytimesoon.
This month, CCA (Canadian Cycling Association) ruled that Michelle Dumaresque should be eligible for the Canadian National team to compete in the World Championships. Dumaresque is a downhill racer. Dumaresque is a transsexual, and underwent a sex change operation something like 6 years ago. Dumaresque was the 2001 Elite Women’s National DH Champion, and placed second this year to Sylvie Allen.
There has been debate as to weather or not Dumaresque should be eligible. I’m on the fence.
On one hand, Dumaresque has all the right biological parts to be technically classified as a female. Sexually, Dumaresque has a female anatomy, and has the right “parts”.
Here’s my beef: DH racing is very much a sport of strength, as much as skill. It should be argued that Dumaresque honed his skills as a male racer. Male DHers, typically, can push the physical limits of DH further, simply because we are stronger. We can push bigger gears, and manhandle the bike better. DH is not necessarily a sport of finesse, but more of brute force. Also, men have always tended to be quite a bit more daring at attempting the larger drops and “hucks” associated with downhill, and have always pushed larger limits. If a person has trained as a man, has trained at higher speeds, at a higher level of difficulty, and with a stronger physical frame, that person will no doubt have not only a physical advantage, but also a psychological advantage if he gets changed to a she.
I also feel it takes away from the accomplishments of riders like Sylvie Allen. If you ever meet Sylvie on the street, you’d probably do a double take. This is a petite girl that could step into most modeling or fitness magazines. She’s a very nice looking girl. I’ve also trained with her, and she has no doubt gotten to where she is because she continuously tries to improve technically, is very fit for the extreme anaerobic effort required for a 4-8 minute DH race, and has great pedaling speed for open sections. She trains hard. But, when it come to some of the areas of a ride where the stunts appear in a trail that normally wouldn’t appear in a race (a big drop, for example), Sylvie skips the stunt altogether. Also, in steep, Shore style DH sections with switchbacks and drops, she’ll either walk the section or take it extremely cautiously.
This isn’t a slight at Sylvie at all- she is very fast (faster than I am in most DH races), and is an elite female athlete. I just think that, considering Dumaresque’s background, she definitely has an unfair advantage. All the more props to Sylvie for beating Dumaresque this year.
Anyone have any opinions? I’m sort of on the fence here.
Dude- notcuttingoffhisboysanytimesoon.
