Friday, 29 March 2024
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UCI applies IOC stance, banning Russian and Belarusian teams, events

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has issued a statement in light of deepening Russian aggression in Ukraine, aligning the organisation with the International Olympic Committee in issuing a full UCI Calendar participation ban on Russian and Belarusian cycling teams.

Having held an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday, the sport’s governing body began its statement by saying it “wishes to see a return to peace as rapidly as possible and calls for the respect of Olympic values. Indeed, sport in general and cycling in particular are vehicles of peace, friendship, solidarity and tolerance.”

Alongside the UCI seeks to provide aid to the Ukraine cycling community and has reached out to the President and representatives of the Ukraine National Federation and expects during the UEC Congress in Denmark this weekend to have a better view on what help can be provided. During this time the UCI “has committed to welcoming Ukrainian athletes to the UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC), its education and training centre in Aigle, Switzerland.”

The International Olympic Committee made its decision swiftly after the advance of the Russian army, on February 28th applying bans to Russian teams from events.

The teams now affected are:

  • UCI ProTeam Gazprom – RusVelo (RUS)
  • UCI Continental Team Vozrozhdenie (RUS)
  • UCI Track Team Marathon – Tula Cycling Team (RUS)
  • UCI Continental Team CCN Factory Racing (BLR)
  • UCI Continental Team Minsk Cycling Club (BLR)
  • UCI Women’s Continental Team Minsk Cycling Club (BLR).

Furthermore, all events set for Russia and Belarus are now cancelled and no further registrations will be considered. This means the cancellation of:

  • Grand Prix Moscow 1: class 2 track event (20-21 May 2022)
  • Granfondo Moscow: UCI Granfondo World Series event (21-22 May 2022)
  • Grand Prix Moscow 2: category 2 track event (22 May 2022)
  • Grand Prix Saint-Petersburg: category 2 track event (26-29 May 2022)
  • Five Rings of Moscow: class 2.2 road event (8-12 June 2022).
  • The Russian and Belarusian National Championships are also withdrawn from the UCI International Calendar.

As is to be expected, emblems, names, acronyms, flags and anthems linked to Russia and Belarus are prohibited at all events on the UCI International Calendar.

No appointments to the UCI will stem from the two nations until further notice.

The decision does not prohibit athletes from either nation to compete if they are already registered members of a UCI team that is not Russian or Belarusian. This is in “the interests of obtaining a balance of all interests”, with the UCI adding that riders will be contracted and that a ban would unjustly penalise teams made up of international riders. A call for respect for all riders from all nations has been made.

As for sponsorship, team and event organisers are requested not to permit any visibility to Russian or Belarusian sponsors at any event, likely meaning an overhaul of jerseys, team cars and any other branding carrying now banned sponsors.

The turbulence has driven a global response and almost complete cut off of Russia as a nation, with near unanimous international condemnation. The ripple affects have seen cycling teams pull sponsorships with Russian firms and, demonstrating that even Russian’s are distraught with Vladamir Putin’s orders, high profile Russian figures with history cycling have gone public with their disdain.

The PR concludes: “The UCI welcomes the courageous stance taken by Russian and Belarusian cyclists and officials in a bid for peace. It calls for restraint from all sides of the conflict as well as for the protection of civilians, and hopes that peace will rapidly be restored.

“The UCI’s position could evolve as the situation in Ukraine develops.”

In business terms, the developing situation has shaken global markets at a time when consumer confidence is at a low and inflation running away from many Government’s control.

Manufacturing counts for the majority of Ukraine’s industrial output. Its largest bike maker is Ardis, based in Kiev. The country has Europe’s largest rare earth material resource, which is likely to mean a sharp increase in prices of certain sought-after elements, in particular those used in electronics. The turbulence has already seen automotive giants like Volkswagen halting certain productions.