The UCI has banned the national champions' jerseys of Russia and Belarus from the peloton as well as stripping six ProContinental or Continental teams of their UCI status, which effectively means they cannot race.
The move comes in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Belarussian cycling interests are also being targeted with sanctions - which are happening across the sporting world - because Belarus allowed its territory to be used for part of the invasion, which continues.
The full list of sanctions is set out below. They come into place immediately and will be in place until further notice. However, riders from Russia or Belarus who compete for teams that are not registered in those two countries are unaffected by the sanctions and can continue to race.
It also seems possible that riders from either country would be able to ride in the Worlds as individuals, if such entries in sport are permitted at that time. The UCI also called on people “to respect Russian and Belarusian riders at races in which they would be authorised to participate".
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It added: “The decision not to impose a blanket ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes at all international events is based on obtaining a balance of all interests. In particular, it is a question of taking into account the contractual rights of the riders and teams concerned, and not to unjustly penalise teams that are not Russian or Belarusian.
“Concerning Russian and Belarusian members of UCI bodies and commissions, the UCI has chosen to act in line with the IOC’s position presented this morning, which means that they may continue to serve as long as they are not directly implicated in the violation of the Olympic Truce; indeed the priority of the measures taken today is to ensure the integrity and security of sporting competitions.”
There was no mention of Igor Makarov, a Russian Oligarch and UCI board member for over a decade, in the UCI's statement. Makarov, who is currently a UCI board member, played a part in the election of Brian Cookson, who beat Pat McQuaid, to the UCI presidency in 2013. He was also a supporter of current UCI president David Lappartient during his successful election run in 2017.
UCI decision statement
In light of the situation, the UCI Management Committee has unanimously taken the following decisions:
1. Russian and Belarusian national teams and / or national selections are not authorised to take part in any events on the UCI International Calendar, with immediate effect.
2. UCI Team status is withdrawn from all teams under Russian or Belarusian nationality and the UCI shall not consider any further applications for UCI status from teams from these two countries. The withdrawal of UCI Team status concerns the following teams:
- 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)
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3. The UCI
withdraws all Russian and Belarusian events from the 2022 UCI International
Calendar and shall not consider any further registration requests. The
following events are concerned by the withdrawal from the UCI International
Calendar:
- 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)
4. The Russian and
Belarusian National Championships are also withdrawn from the UCI International
Calendar.
5. The appearance
of all emblems, names, acronyms, flags and anthems linked to Russia and Belarus
are prohibited at all events on the UCI International Calendar. The Russian and
Belarusian National Champions’ jerseys are therefore banned.
6. Any bids from
Russian and Belarusian candidates for the organisation of UCI events shall not
be considered.
7. The UCI forbids
organisers of events on the UCI International Calendar from inviting Russian
and Belarusian club, regional or mixed teams.
8. The UCI will
not appoint Russian or Belarusian International Commissaires to UCI
International Calendar events until further notice.
The UCI wishes to clarify that Russian and Belarusian licence-holders are authorised to take part in events on the UCI International Calendar with their respective teams provided they are registered with a UCI Team that is neither Russian nor Belarusian. Russian and Belarusian riders can also participate in UCI International Calendar events if individual registration is authorised.
Any participation of Russian or Belarusian athletes must be in a neutral capacity, and organisers are requested to withdraw any reference to Russia or Belarus, including the name, emblems, acronyms and flags, and replace them with a neutral reference or denomination on all event-related documents and in line with instructions to be provided by the UCI.
The decision not to impose a blanket ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes at all international events is based on obtaining a balance of all interests. In particular, it is a question of taking into account the contractual rights of the riders and teams concerned, and not to unjustly penalise teams that are not Russian or Belarusian.
