Woman who finished second in gravel race age group says she had no idea winner was transgender
A cyclist who finished second in a race but was absent from the winner’s podium has contradicted reports that she was part of a boycott due to the fact that the race was won by a transgender woman.
Lindsey Kriete told DailyMail.com she didn’t even know she had finished second in her age group, behind transgender racer Lesley Mumford, and had left the event to have a beer and some food with friends.
Kriete finished a full 17 seconds behind Mumford, who won the 2023 Desert Gravel Co2Ut (Colorado to Utah) race in her 40-49 age group on May 14. Michelle Van Sickle, who took third and was also absent from the podium, came 33 seconds behind the victor.
Mumford, 46, who transitioned in 2014, posted a photo of herself on Instagram standing alone on stage with the caption, “I have no idea why so many people walked out on the stages, but they did.”
Speaking to DailyMail.com on Friday, Kriete said there was no boycott of the podium, and in fact she knew she hadn’t been in the top three overall, so she didn’t feel it necessary to be on the podium. to stand.
Lindsey Kriete, who was absent from the stage after coming in second to a transgender woman, said she simply left to get a beer and food with her friends
A transgender gravel cyclist who won a women’s race was slammed by SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly after questioning why no one joined her on stage in an Instagram post
Kriete’s response comes after her transgender competitor was criticized by SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly for boasting that she was the only one on stage.
On her show, Kelly referred to Mumford as “a biological man” who was “pretending to be a woman” and who was Wesley Mumford until “two minutes ago,” claiming she switched to win races.
Kriete was stunned by the whole ordeal and explained that she didn’t even know what place she had been awarded in the race until she was approached by the media.
“I just knew I hadn’t finished in the top three in the general classification, so I didn’t hang around,” she said with a laugh. “I waited for my friends to finish, we drank some beers, ate some food, then went back to shower and sleep.”
Kriete added that a thundercloud had rolled in and they wanted to leave before it started to rain.
“I don’t care if the winner is transgender – who cares?” she said, adding that there was no deliberate act to “boycott” the stage.
The host showed a photo of Lesley Mumford, a woman who won the 2023 Desert Gravel Co2Ut (Colorado to Utah) race and posted a photo of herself standing alone on the podium with the caption, “I have no idea why so many people previously bailed. the stages, but they did’
Kelly, the former Fox News and NBC host, has previously been critical of transgender participation in women’s sports, including ESPN honoring transgender swimmer Lia Thomas as part of Women’s History Month celebrations.
She says her views on some aspects of transgender rights have hardened in recent months — particularly trans women in sports and providing so-called “gender-affirming care” to children who say they are trans.
Kelly declared women’s cycling “all but gone” and “worse than women’s swimming” because of transgender women’s winning event, speaking to Carrie Prejean Boller and Britt Mayer, the co-founders of The Battle Cry, a group against trans inclusion in sports.
Opponents of trans women who participate in sports say they have a biological advantage as they go through male puberty, giving them bigger muscles and strength.
Supporters say hormone suppression therapies could level this playing field – but the science on how effective this is is still new and has been criticized as too lenient for trans women.
Kelly and her guests joked about how no one came on stage before asking her guests why “the biological women bailed.”
I think we see that we’ve been polite for so long and we thought being polite would somehow make this all go away, but it’s getting worse,” Mayer said.”
“But as it gets worse, I think women are getting stronger in their beliefs and realizing what’s at stake and saying if we don’t protest this now, this madness will become this tidal wave that destroys women’s sport.”
Mumford is pictured on a bike ride to Moab, Utah in April 2021
Mumford — a former 17-year law enforcement veteran and SWAT officer — announced her transition in April 2017, according to CBS News.
She told the Park Record that she made the decision to switch in 2014. In 2018, Mumford became the first transgender person to be admitted to the FBI Academy in Virginia.
In March, Kelly also attacked ESPN for honoring transgender swimmer Lia Thomas as part of its Women’s History Month celebration.