Tashkent City Women saga comes to an end as team disbands following Tour de France debacle

Team Tashkent City Women was one of the most striking teams at the start of Tour de France Femmes this summer. This had to do with both; the way they qualified for the race as well as their performances.

Local continental teams were in frenzy, trying to convince ASO and UCI to not invite the exotic formation from Uzbekistan, but despite their best efforts, Tashkent earned their right to be at the Grande Depart in Rotterdam within the rules imposed by cycling union.

And when four of Tashkent's seven riders abandoned on the very first stage purely on quality, the gap between Asian races and top end of the women's cycling became transparent. At the finish of fourth stage, only Yanina Kuskova was left in the race. The national champion honoured the race by finishing, even performing quite well in the mountains, but that couldn't efface the bitter taste left by Tashkent's presence in the race.

Since the Tour de France Femmes, Tashkent City Women has not competed outside Uzbekistan. According to Kuskova, the team has come to an end. "My last race was on August 18. Since then, my team and I have been at home in Uzbekistan," the 22-year-old rider, who finished 47th in the Tour de France Femmes, wrote in her Instagram story. "We have not competed in other European races because our team fell apart."

"We probably won't do any more trips, but I kept training because I was hoping to go to the World Championships. My country promised to pay for the trip. But in the end they booked tickets so I'll arrive less than 24 hours before the start. Of course I'll be tired after the flight, but they don't care. I said I wouldn't go in this case, but they don't care. It's such a shame that in Uzbekistan they don't understand the value of cycling and athletes. It's a disgrace. Our team existed for three years, we had a great time and now it's over."