Next month’s European Track Cycling Championships in Belarus have been cancelled following the grounding of a commercial flight by the nation’s authorities last week.
The championships, the final major competition for European riders ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, was due to take place in Minsk from June 23rd-27th.
The European Cycling Union (UEC) had expressed concern after a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was forced to land by a Belarusian fighter jet on Sunday, apparently so that authorities could arrest Roman Protasevich, a critic of President Alexander Lukashenko’s authoritarian government.
Following a meeting of the UEC management board on Thursday, the event has now been cancelled, though they could be rearranged if an alternative venue can be sought. UEC president Enrico Della Casa said: “We have recently been monitoring the situation with the Belarus Cycling Federation which has now developed into an international debate and today during the management board meeting, we have decided to cancel the event in Minsk.
“We are already working on finding an alternative solution to enable the riders from our 50 national federations to compete in this season’s continental event.”
Preparations
British Cycling was one of several federations looking to the event to hone final preparations for Tokyo after cancellations and postponements in the Nations Cup meant there have been no elite competitive opportunities for their riders since the World Championships nearly 15 months ago.
But British Cycling performance director Stephen Park said the UEC had made the right decision, indicating the federation will await word on where any rearranged championships might take place before committing to taking part. “While it’s disappointing to lose another race from an already disrupted calendar, I do commend and support the decision made by the UEC to cancel the European Track Championships scheduled to take place in Belarus,” Park said.
“We will support the UEC with finding another venue for the European Championships, but we have a responsibility to act in the best interests of the riders and the team as a whole.
“The constantly changing Covid restrictions on an international level have created additional logistical and financial challenges for every national federation, therefore we need to be realistic about what is possible and practical before Tokyo.
“While we work hard to create race opportunities for our riders, our focus needs to be on ensuring the team are excellently prepared for the forthcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
