Clément Pédron, Media365, published on Monday October 28, 2024 at 5:11 p.m.
While the 35th edition of the Tour du Faso is currently taking place, the Union Cycliste Internationale has decided to remove this event from its calendar. The reason? The presence of a Russian team with Russian riders among the participating teams, which is prohibited by the regulations.
Under what conditions can the Tour du Faso, organized in Burkina Faso, a stage Cycling race organized since 1987, continue? This is the question everyone is asking after the UCI decision. One thing is certain, the country and the International Cycling Union, the body which governs the discipline on a global level, have been arguing for three days over the holding of this event and its future… Reminder of the facts. This category 2.2 race, the lowest of the professional levels, began on Friday and ended this Sunday, but the riders barely had time to finish the first day when the UCI announced the withdrawal of this race from its official calendar. . The reason? The presence of a Russian team with Russian riders among the participating teams, which has been prohibited by the regulations since 2022.
At the start of the first stage, observers of the event including the UCI deplored the presence of the “CSKA Moscow” team, a team of Russian origin and also composed of Russian and Belarusian riders. In addition, a “Russian Army” flocking appears on this team’s outfit. These two elements are contrary to the regulations of the international body since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022. In fact, Russian and Belarusian athletes are no longer authorized to participate in events on the UCI international calendar.
Burkina Faso's response
In any case, this decision did not please everyone and it was the organizing country itself which stepped up to denounce this measure. Sunday evening, Minister of State Bassolma Bazié made a statement: “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.” As L'Équipe points out in today's edition, Burkina Faso has been led for two years by a “military junta” and has turned its back on its “historic partners” to move closer to Russia. Also note that due to this political context, the route of the Tour de Faso was modified for safety reasons.
