The UCI expels Russian and Belarusian teams

The UCI once again expresses its great concern about the situation in Ukraine and strongly condemns the aggression of the Russian and Belarusian governments and their violation of the Olympic truce. The UCI wishes to see a return to peace as soon as possible and calls for the Olympic values to be respected. In fact, sport in general and cycling in particular are vehicles for peace, friendship, solidarity, and tolerance.

Firstly, the UCI has decided to offer its support to the Ukrainian cycling community and has committed to welcoming Ukrainian athletes to the UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC) in Aigle, Switzerland, its education and training center. In this regard, the UCI is in constant contact with the National Federation of Ukraine. UCI President David Lappartient, along with European Cycling Union (UEC) President Enrico Della Casa, will meet with the President and representatives of the National Federation of Ukraine during the UEC Congress in Denmark this weekend to define the procedures to assist the Ukrainian cycling community.

Furthermore, the UCI welcomes the strong decisions taken by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on February 28 and has decided to apply them to cycling.

The UCI, which remains a politically neutral organization, regrets that its government decisions may affect Russian and Belarusian athletes, but it is necessary to be firm in defending Olympic values.

As was pointed out this morning during an emergency meeting of International Federations organized by the IOC and chaired by President Thomas Bach, with the participation of David Lappartient and UCI Director General Amina Lanaya, these are preventive measures aimed at ensuring the integrity and safety of sports competitions and respect for Olympic values.

In light of the situation, the UCI Management Committee has unanimously taken the following decisions:

1. Russian and Belarusian national teams and/or national selections are not authorized to participate in any event on the UCI International Calendar, with immediate effect.

2. UCI team status is withdrawn from all teams of Russian or Belarusian nationality and the UCI will not consider any other UCI team status applications from teams from these two countries. The withdrawal of UCI team status applies to the following teams:

• UCI ProTeam Gazprom – RusVelo (RUS)

• UCI Continental Team Vozrozhdenie (RUS)

• UCI Track Team Marathon – Tula Cycling Team (RUS)

• UCI Continental Team CCN Factory Racing (BLR)

• UCI Continental Team Minsk Cycling Club (BLR)

• UCI Women’s Continental Team Minsk Cycling Club (BLR).

3. The UCI removes all Russian and Belarusian events from the UCI International Calendar 2022 and will not consider any other registration requests. The following events are affected by the removal from the UCI International Calendar:

• Moscow Grand Prix 1: Class 2 track event (May 20-21, 2022)

• Moscow Granfondo: UCI Granfondo World Series event (May 21-22, 2022)

• Moscow Grand Prix 2: Category 2 track event (May 22, 2022)

• St. Petersburg Grand Prix: Category 2 track event (May 26-29, 2022)

• Moscow Five Rings: 2.2 road event (June 8-12, 2022).

4. The National Championships of Russia and Belarus are also removed from the UCI International Calendar.

5. The appearance of all emblems, names, acronyms, flags, and anthems linked to Russia and Belarus is prohibited at any event on the UCI International Calendar. Therefore, the jerseys of the National Champions of Russia and Belarus are prohibited.

6. Offers from Russian and Belarusian candidates to host UCI events will not be considered.

7. The UCI prohibits organizers of events on the UCI International Calendar from inviting Russian and Belarusian clubs, regional or mixed teams.

8. The UCI will not appoint Russian or Belarusian international commissioners for UCI International Calendar events until further notice.

The UCI clarifies that Russian and Belarusian license holders are authorized to participate in UCI International Calendar events with their respective teams, as long as they are registered with a UCI team that is not Russian or Belarusian. Russian and Belarusian riders can also participate in UCI International Calendar events if individual registration is authorized.

Any participation by Russian or Belarusian athletes must be on a neutral basis, and organizers are requested to remove any reference to Russia or Belarus, including the name, emblems, acronyms, and flags, and replace them with a neutral reference or designation in all event-related documents and in accordance with the instructions to be provided by the UCI.

The decision not to impose a general ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes in all international events is based on achieving a balance of all interests. In particular, it is about taking into account the contractual rights of affected riders and teams, and not unfairly penalizing teams that are not Russian or Belarusian.

The UCI calls on organizers, spectators, and competitors to respect Russian and Belarusian riders in races where they are authorized to participate.

In addition, the UCI Management Committee has decided to introduce specific regulations that allow Russian and Belarusian license holders with multiple nationalities to request a change in their sporting nationality without any restrictions. It will be possible to expedite the procedure related to this measure, which already exists in the UCI Regulations.

Specific measures will be studied to allow passengers and staff members of Russian and Belarusian teams to register with a UCI team that is not Russian or Belarusian outside of registration periods.

Regarding the National Federations of Russia and Belarus, and in line with the responses given by the IOC this morning during the meeting with the Presidents of the International Federations, there is no need to suspend them because they are not involved in the violation of the Olympic truce. Similarly, with respect to Russian and Belarusian members of UCI bodies and commissions, the UCI has chosen to act in accordance with the IOC's position presented this morning, which means they can continue to serve as long as they are not directly involved in the violation of the Olympic truce; indeed, the priority of the measures taken today is to ensure the integrity and safety of sports competitions.

As part of its decisions, the UCI Management Committee has also taken a stance on sponsorship by Russian or Belarusian brands and companies. As it considers that this would damage the image of the UCI and cycling in general, such sponsorship will not be authorized. Therefore, teams and event organizers have been asked not to give any visibility to Russian or Belarusian sponsors at UCI International Calendar events.

For the sake of clarity, all measures apply immediately with respect to both Russia and Belarus and cover all categories and disciplines. They will remain in effect until further notice. In the coming days, the UCI will publish ad hoc rules that will provide further guidance on the measures taken today by the UCI Management Committee. Directives will also be communicated to event organizers regarding the prohibition of displaying references to Russia and Belarus.

The UCI specifies that if a State decrees stricter measures regarding the participation of Russian or Belarusian riders or teams in competitions on its territory, these measures will take precedence over the decisions taken by the UCI.

The UCI welcomes the courageous stance taken by Russian and Belarusian cyclists and officials in an attempt for peace. It calls for moderation from all parties in the conflict, as well as the protection of civilians, and hopes that peace will be restored quickly.

The UCI's position may evolve as the situation in Ukraine develops.