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Despite following the strict rules of elite cycling to the letter, a Canadian transgender woman is at the centre of a political firestorm after winning a world championship race for women.

Rachel McKinnon, an assistant professor of philosophy at the College of Charleston who is from Victoria, B.C., won the UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championship in the women’s 35-44 age bracket in Los Angeles last week.

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She was eligible because of rules that require athletes’ testosterone levels to be be in a given range, which McKinnon’s were. But because McKinnon was born male, her victory has taken on a massive political significance, and she has been fielding media and public interest from around the world, some of it congratulatory, much of it derogatory.

“I see my win in this broader political moment where trans rights have made great strides and people are waking up,” McKinnon said in an interview.