The government of Burkina Faso protested against the withdrawal from the calendar of the International Cycling Union (UCI) of its national tour, the 35th edition of which is currently taking place, due to the presence of Russian riders at the start of the race.
2 mins
“ Sovereignty is in all areas: economic, social, sporting, political, military. It is not up to a country to tell us who we should invite, who should not be invited, who should participate or not », declared Minister of State Bassolma Bazié. The latter spoke on Sunday October 27 from the town of Koudougou (center), which hosted the finish of the third stage of the event, which must end on November 3.
It is precisely the presence of the winner of the day, the Russian Anton Popov and his team, CSKA Moscow, which poses a problem for the UCI. Since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Russian and Belarusian athletes are no longer allowed to participate in events on the UCI international calendar.
Friday evening, in front of the presence of CSKA jerseys flocked “Russian Army” (Russian army) and its six runners, the international body announced the withdrawal of this event from its official calendar. “ The organizers of the Tour du Faso, a class 2 event listed on the UCI Calendar, invited the Russian team CSKA Moscow on their own initiative, without first notifying the UCI. After being informed of this, the UCI immediately sent the organizers an official letter asking them in particular to prohibit the participation of the team, in application of the Ad Hoc Regulations relating to measures against Russia and Belarus. However, despite this directive, the team started the event this morning. Consequently, the UCI immediately removed the event from the UCI Calendar and is currently studying the disciplinary consequences relating to the participation of this team. No further comments will be made on this matter at this time. », We could read in the press release made public by the international cycling body.
The Tour du Faso, a category 2.2 race, the lowest level for a professional race, has been held since 1987 and was one of the rare UCI races on the African continent. His route was restricted to the center of the country due to the security situation in Burkina Faso, most of whose territory is undermined by bloody jihadist attacks. The 2022 edition had even been canceled.