Cycling: Rider in gender dispute

A man who had a sex change six years ago has won a place on the Canadian women's downhill mountain biking team.

Michelle Dumaresq, formerly Michael, will compete at the World Mountain Biking Championships later this month in Kaprun, Austria.

However, the decision has brought protests from some of Dumaresq's team-mates, who say she should not be allowed to race against women. "Something just doesn't seem right to me," Sylvie Allen, the Canadian champion, said.

Dumaresq, 32, is facing a formal protest led by Allen and Cassandra Boon, another national team member, who have called on the International Cycling Union to ban Dumaresq from competing against women.

Their letter recommended that the ICU did not prohibit Dumaresq from competing altogether, but create a category for her, called "transgendered."