In one of the more curious cycling related stories you are ever likely to read, the 2024 women's Vuelta a Andalucia has been thrown in chaos by a group of men claiming to be from Guinea-Bissau.
According to a report by Marca, the Guinea-Bissau Federation contacted Deporinter, the company that organises the race, in order to bring over a team from the African nation. An agreement was quickly reached with race organisers and the team from Guinea-Bissau, content with the situation were reportedly also planning to race in Éibar alongside the women's Volta.
However, after all the relative documents were forwarded to the UCI, with reservations made at local hotels for the team to stay in during their stay, the trail of the Guinea-Bissau team goes cold for the race organisers. According to Marca, despite frequent calls an attempts to make contact, the organization knows nothing about this group whose leaders neither pick up the phone nor answer messages.
In another twist to the tale, the UCI licences of riders signed up for the race as part of the Guinea-Bissau team have now been revealed to be male riders and not women. Understandably given what has transpired, the team is no longer on the cards to race the upcoming Volta a Andalucia with race organisers reportedly intent on seeking damages from the mysterious figures involved.
EQUIPOS OFICIALES 🏁 🤝 Estos serán los 20 equipos que tomarán salida el próximo 29 de Mayo en Castellar de la Frontera (Cádiz). 🚨 A destacar la presencia de 5 Equipos UCI Women’s WorldTeams; Movistar Team, Roland, Human Powered Health, Liv Alula Jayco y Uno x Pro Cycling.
