Almost two months on from the UCI’s ban on Russian and Belarusian teams, members of the Gazprom-RusVelo team have in recent days appealed to the sport’s governing body to find a way to help them back to racing.
In the meantime, Russian riders on foreign teams have been able to race all along, a result of a muddled UCI policy which has seen rides from Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic among those prevented from racing.
Bora-Hansgrohe leader Aleksandr Vlasov has been among the Russians able to continue racing, with the 25-year-old able to enjoy a career-best start to his season at Bora-Hansgrohe. So far, Vlasov has won the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and placed on the podium at the Trofeo Pollença, the GP Indurain, and Itzulia Basque Country.
Following his latest podium spot, third place at Wednesday’s La Flèche Wallonne , Vlasov was asked about the plight of his fellow Russian racers, contrasting his situation with the likes of Ilnur Zakarin, a leader at Vlasov’s former team, Gazprom-RusVelo.
"Of course, I’m happy that I can compete now," Vlasov said in the post-race press conference. "You know, I’m just a bike rider so I want to race, I want to train. It’s my job and I want to continue to do it."
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Vlasov has, […]
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