Gazprom - Rusvelo argue they can be "a messenger of peace"

Days after being removed of it's UCI status, Russian Pro Team Gazprom - Rusvelo currently faces uncertain future. However, the situation may be substantially worst for it's riders who are not allowed to compete for the time being, both riders and team are looking for a possible solution to the heavy sanctions imposed by the UCI.

Italian rider Alessandro Fedeli has spoken to Bic.pro regarding what these sanctions are currently doing to his sporting ambitions: "I would like to know at this point why the Russian riders of the German or British teams can continue to race. It is a measure that feeds hatred, in an environment that is used to mixing nationalities. In our team there are Italians, Russians, guys from the Czech Republic like Vacek who won in UAE and also from Costa Rica. The headquarters are in Italy, the team cars have Italian plates and the money comes from Germany," he said. Fedeli was to start Trofeo Laigueglia with the team yesterday at his birth day where he was one of the pre-race favourites, but the Russian team's schedule was cut with immediate effect, not allowing him to lineup, aswell as likely missing his big goals of the season this month with Tirreno-Adriatico and Milano-Sanremo.

"The other day I did 7 hours and 20 minutes of training preparing for San Remo. I'm starting to think I'll never become what I hoped for. My dreams are shattered. Even if they let us start again, the most important races of our season have gone. I'm on the side of the team, and I can't say anything about the war. We were ready to race, but now the desire to train is gone. Let's see what happens. I returned from the Tour of Antalya with Covid. As soon as it passed, the team spent some good money sending four of us up to Teide. All thrown away! If the prospect is not to race for a long time, we might as well take a break and recover."

Future is uncertain for riders like Fedeli who joined Gazprom this season alongside Italian Matteo Malucelli and Spaniard José Manuel Diaz who set out to be the new leaders of the team this season.

Gazprom - Rusvelo has revealed to CyclingWeekly that "the team management is on its way to Switzerland, UCI headquarters, in order to continue our dialogue regarding the measures which we need to take right now for our international team. We hope that we can tell you more details tonight after the meeting." Despite the expected measures, several non-Russian riders from the team were left in a position where they are not allowed to compete. Facing a tough decision, it is possible that tweaks to the sanctions are made so as to limit the of some riders in the near future.

Team general manager Renat Khamidulin has said: "We have sent the world governing body some of our proposals, and the thing that comforts us is that a dials is underway with them... Cycling, our team, could be a messenger of peace. We don't want war; we want peace." In the coming days the UCI may release an update on it's sanctions, whilst at the same time athletes from the two sanctioned nations fear the list of countries restricting their possibilities of racing gets bigger.