"We cannot race, we cannot do our work" - Former Italian Rusvelo riders push forward solution with UCI

33-year old Marco Canola is one of the many former Gazprom-Rusvelo riders who were left without a contract as UCI sanctions hit the Russian and Belarusian teams amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Whilst the damage within cycling is meaningless when in comparison, several riders were left battling for a job in a crucial point of the season.

With several Italians onboard - naturally, as the team's base was located in Italy - there have been many calls from those riders for some sort of solution to be agreed on. Whilst some managed to race through the Italian spring calendar, the current racing menu does not provide almost any opportunity for those left without a contract.

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One of the team's riders, Marco Canola, has said in a press conference this past Monday, as the riders met with the CPA to work on a solution to the riders who've suffered the consequences: “They took away our license and we are victims of this situation. We cannot race, we cannot do our work. We have strong young riders on this team, and to think they cannot race due to something that absolutely has nothing to do with us, and that is completely unjust," he said.

“It’s going to affect our careers, our ability to race. We want a dialogue with the UCI that we can reincorporate into the peloton with another team, another sponsors, another jersey," Canola pointed out. That proposition was already issued by the team over the last few weeks, however an agreement has not yet been found.

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Whilst some of the team's riders have found a new home, like Nicola Conci at Alpecin-Fenix Development Team and Mattias Vacek at Trek - Segafredo (in the coming months), most remain in the unknown, with no contract and half the season still ahead where there will be very few opportunities to race competitively. 

CPA president Gianni Bugno has stressed that the work is being done: “These riders cannot race and they have nothing to do what is happening but today they are not without a team and without possibility to race. We are looking for a solution.”

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