Gazprom-RusVelo riders in the marketplace as group suspends all exercise

The Gazprom-RusVelo biking group have formally suspended its actions and launched their riders and workers from their contracts, with group supervisor Renat Khamidulin accusing UCI president David Lappartient of doing nothing to attempt to assist the group attempt to survive.

The UCI adopted comparable selections in different sports activities and the Worldwide Olympic Committee’s suggestions when, on March 1, they suspended all Russian and Belarusian groups, together with Gazprom-RusVelo, from competitors following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Particular person Russian and Belarusian athletes have been allowed to proceed to compete for different groups.

Since then Khamidulin has desperately been attempting to discover a new title sponsor to cowl estimated prices of €4 million however to this point has nothing concrete in place.

Khamidulin is indignant that the UCI didn’t attempt to do extra to maintain the group alive underneath a unique nationality, which might have helped discover a new sponsor. He’s about to formalise the termination of the rider and workers contracts and wind down the administration firm that ran the group from Switzerland and Italy.  

He instructed Cyclingnews that the group had funding in place to pay salaries for the entire of March and invites to fifteen days of WorldTour racing however claimed the UCI wouldn’t assist them to attempt to survive.

“We’ve suspended all exercise as we mentioned we’d do. We’re nonetheless on the lookout for a sponsor however there’s nothing concrete in place and so I can’t ask the 52 riders and workers to attend any longer,” Khamidulin mentioned.

“It’s tragic as a result of we’ve acquired a superbly functioning group construction, with group automobiles, group buses, bikes and gear and riders who’re in a position to win. Mathias Vacek gained a stage on the UAE Tour and on Sunday Alessandro Fedeli completed second on the GP Industria in Italy.”

The group was sponsored by Gazprom Germany, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom in Russia, however the group was able to race in clean white jerseys underneath a brand new nationality to attempt to appeal to a brand new sponsor. French firms Look and Corima pulled their help of the group in early March however the group stored the gear, eradicating all branding.

“We’d have attracted a number of consideration which may have helped save the group. It was our likelihood, the riders agreed to the plan and had been motivated however the UCI mentioned no and didn’t assist us in any respect. By not doing something, they went in opposition to us,” Khamidulin claimed.

The riders and workers at the moment are free to seek out new groups however even essentially the most profitable riders reminiscent of UAE Tour stage winner Mathias Vacek and group chief Ilnur Zakarin will wrestle to seek out new groups mid-season, with 2022 budgets allotted.

A lot of main WorldTour groups have been hit by COVID-19 circumstances and damage this spring however the UCI has to this point refused to extend the 31-rider group measurement restrict to assist the groups and the Gazprom-RusVelo riders. EF Schooling EasyPost, Ineos Grenadiers, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert, Israel-Premier Tech, QuickStep-AlphaVinyl and Trek-Segafredo all have 31 riders – the utmost allowed for 2022 – and so can’t improve their roster. ProTeams have smaller rosters and budgets and so are much less prone to rent riders mid-season.

“The world of biking is watching to see what the UCI does to assist however we’re seeing they need to play at politics reasonably than defend and assist the riders and workers,” Khamidulin instructed Cyclingnews.

“The UCI wished to punish a Russian group however they’re penalising riders from Italy, Norway, Spain and even Costa Rica. Even when three or 4 of the riders discover new groups, all of the others, 18 or so, are going to be left on the road. That’s not proper. I’ve additionally acquired a mechanic from the Ukraine and Russian workers who’ve wives from the Ukraine, who’ve misplaced their jobs there. They’re determined.