UCI plans to host Afghanistan Championships for women in Switzerland

The UCI has confirmed that the 2022 Afghanistan Women's National Championships road race will be held in October this year at their Swiss headquarters in Aigle.

Cycling’s governing body said in a press release that “due to the consequences of events last August” in Afghanistan “for part of the population, in particular women”, it was no longer possible for the race to take place in the country.

The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan for the first time in 20 years in August 2021, causing a significant and harsh reversal of any progress toward gender equality accomplished in the preceding two decades. Many women were forced to abandon their homeland as part of a major evacuation of vulnerable groups facing organized violence against women and girls by the Taliban, who stated in September that women would be barred from participating in sports.

Given their country's political circumstances, the Afghanistan Women's National Championships will be contested in Switzerland on October 23rd at the UCI headquarters in Aigle. The single event, based on a 28.5-kilometer circuit, will include two categories: under-23 and elite women, with roughly 60 racers anticipated, all of whom are now in exile from their home country.

According to UCI president David Lappartient, the decision to conduct the event was made in the context of the UIC's participation in a prior cooperative operation to assist the Afghan cycling community in attempting to evacuate cyclists from the country. “The UCI has decided, exceptionally, to ensure, in collaboration with its partners, the continuity of the sporting activities of the Cycling Federation of Afghanistan by organizing its Women's National Road Cycling Championships this year," he said.