IOC pleads no participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes

Within the context of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, further sanctions are being applied to Russia which will affect aswell the participation of Russian athletes across all branches of the sports world, with cycling possibly included.

With the explanation being that Russia, with the support of Belarus have breached the Olympic Truce, the International Olympic has yesterday announced that it would recommend governing bodies of sports including cycling for sanctions on the consequence of the nations' actions. Simultaneously, the IOC has made it clear "not to punish athletes for the decisions of their government if they are not participating in them", hence every governing body has the option to deploy their own sanctions, if any, at Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Inbetween the list of reccomendations, the IOC has said recommended that "International Sports Federations and sports event organizers not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions", and that "no athlete or sports official from Russia or Belarus be allowed to take part under the name of Russia and Belarus. Russian of Belarusian nationals, be it as individuals or teams, should be accepted only as neutral athletes or neutral teams. No national symbols, colours, flags or anthems should be displayed."

What consequences this may or may not see for riders of these nations in cycling is yet to be known, as the UCI is likely to communicate on the topic in the coming days. All UCI races, in different disciplines have been cancelled in these two countries for the 2022 season. Despite Belarus having little presence in pro cycling, with recently retired Vasil Kiryienka being the highest profile rider in recent years, Russia has the likes of Pavel Sivakov, Aleksandr Vlasov and Pro Team Gazprom - Rusvelo who may suffer from any possible sanctions.