Two women who took second and third place in a Colorado cycling race seem to have taken a stand by refusing to take the stand after a man claiming to be a woman won first place.
Cyclist Lesley Mumford, a man who “transitioned” in 2017, won the 100-mile race on Sunday, beating out 13 women in the 40 to 49 age group.
However, when it came time to visit the winner’s podium, Mumford found himself standing alone on the No. 1 platform because the women who won second and third place didn’t show up.
Neither the second-place Lindsey Kriete nor the third-place Michelle Van Sickle explained publicly why they skipped the ceremony, according to the New York Post.
Mumford was apparently bewildered as to why the women declined to stand next to him for a photo op.
“I have no idea why so many people bailed before the podiums, but they did,” he later wrote on Instagram. “I swear I wasn’t the only one in my age group.”
The CO2UT gravel race was yesterday.
Trans-identified male cyclist Lesley (Wesley) Mumford was? in the women’s 40-49 age group (out of 14) and 6/33 for women overall on the 100 mile course.
Lesley doesn’t know why no one else showed up for the podium!#ThisNeverHappens pic.twitter.com/MtVUTrI91X
— ? (@i_heart__bikes) May 15, 2023
Mumford blew his female opponents out of the water, beating Kriete by 17 minutes and Van Sickle by a whopping half an hour. The race did have a “non-binary” category, but Mumford preferred to compete against women.
Many took to social media to praise the two women who skipped the podium ceremony, seeing their absence as a “silent protest” against men in women’s sports.
“The women are refusing to stand on the podium with the man! Well done!” said Inga Thompson, a three-time Olympian and two-time medalist at the Tour de France.
The silent protests are starting! The women are refusing to stand on the podium with the man! Well done!!! https://t.co/QazFxeoBLc
— Inga Thompson Fdn OLY??? (@ithompsonfdn) May 16, 2023
“Enough is enough!” said Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer who has launched a campaign to protect women’s sports.
“Empty podium except for the male who naturally finished atop all the women in the women’s category. Despite there being a non-binary/trans category he easily could have competed in. Keep it up girls!”
Enough is enough! Empty podium except for the male who naturally finished atop all the women in the women’s category. Despite there being a non-binary/trans category he easily could have competed in. Keep it up girls! #SaveWomensSports https://t.co/OcFnyUezYi
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) May 16, 2023
Mumford is not the first man who has beat out actual women in the sport of cycling. Indeed, it has happened again and again in the last few years.
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In one recent example, a race in New Mexico pledged to award the winner of the women’s category the same amount of prize money as the winner of the men’s. The $33,350 purse for the women’s race ended up going to a man.
The phenomenon has even caused cyclo-cross champion Hannah Arensman to quit her sport after being forced to compete against one male cyclist after another, Breitbart reported.
According to The Guardian, the governing body of world cycling has agreed to reopen talks about rules allowing men to race against women — though it seems unlikely anything will change much.
The left has opened the door to this kind of nonsense and too many have accepted it without question, unfairly allowing men to dominate women’s competitions and showering them with accolades and trophies.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.