make. but that s how dark it is. reporter: gillian decided to tell her family and she began transitioning. joanne worked with officials at usa cycling and after months of talks and hormonal testing they granted her a race to race as a female. i was finally on that woman s team that i always longed for. reporter: now she s about to compete in her first professional cycling race as a woman. the colorado classic. this race is important. because i ll be the first transwoman athlete in the united states to race in the pro field. reporter: the colorado classic is a two day cycling event that draws the top professional cyclists in the world. when you have 83 other riders hitting speeds of 42 miles an hour it s a crazy thing. reporter: gillian finished in time to qualify for the second race. a grueling 32 mile course in breckinridge, colorado.
cnn sanjay gupta reports. cycling has offered me a sense of stability in my life. i work through every life situation on my bike. reporter: gillian bearden is an elite cyclist but her ride hasn t been easy. i was born male, as jonathan paul bearden. having this identity going on in your mind, you struggle on a daily basis. reporter: to cope, gillian turned to cycling. and began competing in the male circuit but her struggle with her identity persisted. i was contemplating suicide. to want to kill yourself when you have children and a wife that s a hard decision to make. but that s how dark it is. reporter: gillian decided to tell her family and with their support she began transitioning. gillian worked with the officials at usa cycling and after months of talks and hormonal testing they granted her a license to race as a female. it was extremely emotional, i was finally on that woman s
allegation. armstrong has denied the charges. up about david epstein who co-wrote the article joins me now. it hits news stands today? wednesday. that s today. i know it s early. stay with me. let s start with this. did lance armstrong cleat? well, all i can do is stand by our reporting and let people decide on that. but i think we have some new allegations in there, and we report that he certainly tested abnormally high for testosterone, but those tests weren t reported as positive. people have to make their judgments. help us make sense of that. allegations have been made before. what have you dug up? you ll let people decide on their own. what is the new information they will be deciding on? among the new information we saw documents, usa cycling, in 1999, when lance armstrong was in the cycling pool. he is identified by his drug testing i.d. numbers. those were lance armstrong s