Does cycling's response to Russian invasion go far enough?

Brits and Dutch extend UCI team ban to individual riders, reports Vern Pitt

- Vern Pitt

As the war in Ukraine sparked by Russia’s invasion deepened last week, the world of cycling struggled to get to grips with the implications for the sport. Along with a wave of support for Ukraine there was mourning for the death of one of its own in the conflict, bans for Russian teams and one rider changed their nationality.

In a heart-breaking reminder the stakes couldn’t be higher, the Ukrainian Cycling Federation confirmed that one of its coaches, Alexander Kulyk, had been killed in the fighting in Kyiv.

Former WorldTour professional and now president of the Ukrainian Cycling Federation Andriy Grivko told Cycling Weekly: “He was involved in a military operation to help people exit from dangerous places. He had been a longtime coach with the federation and was almost 65. Before he had been a coach with the Soviet Union and had worked with the Russian system.

“His son, Andriy, was on a training ride when his father was killed. We at the federation knew about his death before his son. It’s difficult.”

The news of Kulyk’s death came just 24 hours after the sport’s governing body the UCI had decided to ban Russian and Belarusian teams from competing. National teams from those nations were banned and UCI team status withdrawn from six teams including ProTeam Gazprom-RusVelo. The move also affected three men’s and one women’s Continental teams, including Minsk Cycling Club, and a track team.