Breaking: All Russian and Belarusian teams and races loose UCI license

The UCI has taken the recommendations advised by the International Olympic Committee and have applied sanctions with immediate effect to all Russian and Belarusian teams and events. This means UCI Pro Team Gazprom - Rusvelo has had it's license cancelled.

On the following of the current Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UCI has followed the recommendations given today by the IOC and has with immediathe effect withdrawn the UCI license of all Russian and Belarusian teams. These include Gazprom - Rusvelo, Team Vozrozhdenie, Team CCN Factory Racing and Team Minsk Cycling Club in men's elite cycling, Team Minsk Cycling Club on women's elite cycling, and the track marathon team of Tula Cycling Team.

Furthermore all UCI events on these two countries are effectively cancelled for the time being: Grand Prix Moscow 1; Grand Prix Moscow 2; Grand Prix Saint-Petersburg; Five Rings of Moscow and Grandfondo Moscow [UCI Granfondo World Series].

Russian and Belarusian national teams are no longer authorized to take part in any UCI event, there will be no national championships and any embles, names, acronyms, flags and anthems linked to both nations are prohibited. All these sanctions take place with immediate effect and until further notice, the UCI has confirmed.

One of the most feared sanctions, which would be of the prohibition of athletes from those nations to compete, will not take place for riders who are under contract with teams of other nations. These include the likes of Pavel Sivakov and Aleksandr Vlasov, who both represent teams of unsanctioned countries.