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The rider won the queen stage of the Tour de l’Ardèche on Saturday, September 7, making her the first Afghan woman to win at the highest level. A symbol for the woman who left her country with her sister three years ago to escape the return of the fundamentalists.
Something important happened in Lozère on Saturday, September 7. No images were broadcast, few people saw it, but those who were there will remember it for a long time. During the queen stage of the International Women’s Cycling Tour of Ardèche, between La Canourgue and Mont Lozère, the highest point in the Cévennes, where subalpine grass and peat bogs with multiple shades of red reign, Fariba Hashimi, a young 21-year-old Afghan, won. Even though the most famous female riders in the world are currently in Romandie, she beat quality opponents, such as Thalita de Jong, recently 10th in the Tour de France, or the French Léa Curinier and Marion Bunel (who has just won the Tour de l’Avenir). In women’s cycling, which is progressing at a very high speed, this is the first time in history that an Afghan woman has won a stage of a race registered on the professional calendar of the International Cycling Union (UCI).
Fariba Hashimi’s victory is a clear symbol, at a time when women’s rights in her country are increasingly repressed. With her sister Yulduz, three years older than her, the cyclist fled Afghanistan in 2021 when the Taliban returned to power. Since then, the two riders have been training
