Liège, Thursday evening, yesterday. The hotels hosting the teams form an unusual village scattered among the hills and villages, where plans are made and goals are cultivated. Runners on the eve of a race are suspended between their strength and their dreams, everything that can give meaning to the fatigue of every day..
And as we leave one of these hotels – the Post Hotel in Herstal which hosts Bora, Movistar and Bahrain – WhatsApp lights up the display with a group callThe caller is malucelli, with him the faces of appear Carboni, Canola, Fedeli, concept e Scaroni. The six Italians from Gazprom on the same screenThere's no eve for them. And once the races are over in the blue jersey, who knows when there will be another one.
Marco Canola, here in Oman, had a great season in mind Fedeli second in the stage in Antalya and also in Larciano Malucelli wins two races in 2022, in Antalya and Sicily Conci would already have a place, but the ceiling of 31 riders is blocking him Carboni seeks a relaunch, here he is at Valenciana Scaroni has never finished outside the top 15 in his two races with the national team. He's 24 years old.
Marco Canola, here in Oman, had a great season in mind Fedeli second in the stage in Antalya and also in Larciano Malucelli wins two races in 2022, in Antalya and Sicily Conci would already have a place, but the ceiling of 31 riders is blocking him Carboni seeks a relaunch, here he is at Valenciana Scaroni has never finished outside the top 15 in his two races with the national team. He's 24 years old.
Two months ago
Tuesday will be two months since the team was cancelled from theUCI and about one year has passed since the athletes asked for a meeting with President Lappartient without receiving any answers.Maybe it's a tactic: if you don't respond, they'll soon stop talking about it. In this fast-paced society, that's often how it works. Even the war in Ukraine, which used to be on everyone's lips, is now becoming background news. We get used to everything, as long as it affects othersAnd it doesn't matter that there are people involved who have nothing to do with it.
"You wake up in the morning," says Malucelli, winner of a stage at the Giro di Sicilia, "waiting for the phone to ring and someone to say that the CAS has given its ruling and the UCI has made a decision. But It's not easy to go on like this, living the life of an athlete with no prospects and no salary.».
The appeal to the TAS
These kids are in a moment of deep crisis. Social media appeals are losing traction, people like them and think they've done their part.. The CPA, the world union of riders led by Bugno, has followed legal channels and he stopped in front of the fact that the UCI was waiting for the CAS ruling, to which he addressed Renat Khamiduline (Gazprom team manager) considering the cancellation of the team illegitimateAmong his arguments was that the IOC directive on the suspension of the Russian teams would have allowed for to let Gazprom race without the sponsor's writing.
Big and small
This is undoubtedly strange. Gazprom's contracts were signed by Khamiduline's Swiss agency ProVelo AG., which in turn had a sponsorship contract with Gazprom. The team's registered office was therefore in Switzerland., while the operational base was in Italy.
«If they had informed themselves from the beginning – says Canola – instead of acting impulsively, maybe they would have considered a better path for everyone. Instead they killed us, while other Russians continue to carry out activities."
No reply
The riders have nothing to do with that appeal, it's worth reiterating. They are out of work and out of a team and for this reason they sent the UCI two rather simple requests.
«What we ask – says Canola – is responses from the president of the organization we are members ofWe asked questions, we deserve answers. I dare say it's your duty to do so. We want a face to faceI don't find it acceptable that in order to communicate with each other we have to go through the union, which in turn receives an intermediary from the UCI."
The two requests
There are two requests.
The first: in order to facilitate the transition of athletes to other sports groups, raise the maximum number of athletes per team from 31 to 32This would allow us to find a place for some of them.
The second: for the remaining riders, the possibility of racing in a neutral jersey, in a team now composed of a smaller number of athletes and supported by smaller sponsors.
Normally, these negotiations take place behind closed doors, as is done when the movement's image is at heart. Only by keeping the doors closed the opposite was achieved.. For example, people don't know that these six young people have repeatedly asked David Lappartient for a response, and he is perfectly aware of their requests. Why isn't the UCI president responding?
No certain date
The two requests, decidedly simple and easy to implement, were supported by Gazprom staff, athletes' managers, the CPA and theAIGCP, the association of sports groups. Instead, for once, when so many components have found themselves in agreement, the UCI, which should care about the survival of such a large number of professionals (in addition to the 6 Italians, there are another 14 riders in the same situation), does not respond.
"The case," Canola reiterates, "is not our concern. We weren't even told directly that the CAS is pending. There's no date for this ruling. And there is not even a date by which, in any case, a decision will be made.».
Each of the riders wrote down their requests and sent to the UCI via the CPA, to comply with the rules. It seems that Lappartient was indignant that Khamidulin wrote directly to him and his board.
Right to dignity
Silence kills. Indifference takes away dignitySome of these guys already have another contract ready, but they can't sign it because the new team already has 31 riders. The luckiest ones will be parked in their respective continental teams and won't be able to race in WorldTour races for the first year; the others are stuck.
«If Lappartient doesn't want to help us – says Fedeli – what at least say it, but we want an answer. Or maybe he's hiding out of fear of his responsibilities?
«I worked as a professional for 11 years – echoes Canola – making myself a spokesperson for correctness and I'm not happy being treated like this».
The two questions
The latest rumour circulating in the group is that the UCI has called an online meeting for April 25th with all the professionals, men and women, and Gazprom athletes were not included in the mailing listIt may be an oversight, but at a certain level, oversights are not allowed.
therefore Now we'll repeat the two questions.
The firstIs it possible to raise the maximum number of riders per team to 32 to allow anyone who wants to hire one of these riders?
The secondIs it possible that others run in a neutral uniform so as not to waste a season and, if anything, get noticed by someone?
