Wesley Mumford, who in 2017 began undergoing medical treatments to appear as female and now goes by the name Lesley Mumford, cycled last week in the 40 to 49 age bracket of the women's Desert Gravel Co2Ut, a 100-mile gravel race along the desert mountains of Colorado near the Utah border last week, and won.And won by a large margin, finishing 17 minutes ahead of second place competitor Lindsey Kriete and by more than half an hour ahead of Michelle Van Sickle..When it came time to hand out the prizes, both Kriete and Van Sickle refused to join Mumford on the winners’ podium, which Mumford seemed nonplussed about, reports BlazeNews..“On Monday, Mumford took to Instagram to share an image of himself standing alone in first place, arms raised in celebration and a smile of delight on his face,” says Blaze..“He also made note of the women's absence in the accompanying message, ‘I have no idea why so many people bailed before the podiums, but they did. I swear I wasn't the only one in my age group,’" he wrote in part..Mumford’s Instagram post caught the attention of Megyn Kelly, who hosts a podcast on SiriusXM and took umbrage to his attitude in the post, saying Mumford was a man "until two minutes ago. Now he says he’s Lesley Mumford and has won in the women’s category.”."He suddenly decides he’s a woman and goes and steals all their medals. No wonder [female athletes] are quitting," Kelly added, according to the New York Post..Other women supported Kriete and Van Sickle's stance not to stand on the podium, including Inga Thompson, an Olympic cyclist who has medaled in the Tour de France, who called it a "silent protest." ."The silent protests are starting!" Thompson tweeted. "The women are refusing to stand on the podium with the man! Well done!!!".Riley Gaines, a former female collegiate swimmer who has been vocal about her disdain of officials allowing Lia Thomas, a biological male, to participate in women’s swimming competitions, also spoke up, tweeting, “Enough is enough!". Gaines also noted the Desert Gravel Co2Ut competition offers a non-binary category, but Mumford opted not to compete in it. Neither Kriete nor Van Sickle made a comment about Mumford..“Before presenting himself as a female, Mumford spent 14 years as a sheriff's deputy in Summit County, Colorado,” reports Blaze. “He was also married to a woman for 12 years and has at least one child, a son. In 2017, his then-seven-year-old son announced Mumford's transgender identity to Mumford's fellow deputies, saying, "My mom’s going to tell you she’s transgender.".In 2018, the FBI National Academy invited Mumford to attend the academy as the first so-called transgender woman in its 83-year history. Later that year, Mumford resigned from the sheriff's office “to pursue other interests," says Blaze.
