While The Tour of Italy It gives you a lot of emotions, and there are those who are forced to watch it from home. And they experience emotions, yes, but with much less joy. It's Dmitri Sedun, sporting director of what was the Gazprom-RusVelo
We have discussed this topic several times, especially from the riders' point of view, but how is the staff doing? Sedun answers us from his home in the heart of Switzerland. He's now retired. And yet, he'd gotten off to a good start. His return to the team marked a turning point.
Did you start off on the right foot?
Exactly, I had managed to do what I wanted. Maybe not 100%, but quite a bit. Renat Khamidulin (the team manager, ed.) had asked me to change the sporting part of the team, I had given it a certain imprint, a good organization. In the first three weeks of the season we had achieved more results than in the last two years. And even after our break with their respective national teams, they did well. They benefited from the good preparation they had done with the team. Look who was ahead at the Giro di Sicilia.
Dmitri, the simplest question: how are things going? How are you coping these days?
It's all a bit strange. I'm at home and I can enjoy my family and my little kids, but you feel lost. We were cut off from one day to the next. "Taac": and we no longer had our license. And yes, we tried everything to get the team going again. Our efforts were in vain. Now I watch a lot of cycling... on TV.
What do you mean by “many ways”?
As soon as the war broke out, theUCI He cut out everything that could be linked to Russia, but he did so illogically. Also because our team had no sponsors directly contracted with Russia. We reported to Gazprom's European headquarters in Germany, to assert that legally there was no connection to Russia. And besides, everyone continues to buy gas there and is not subject to sanctions. Furthermore, we were registered in Switzerland with paymet agent. We put in the hard work. We immediately removed the graffiti from the cars, the shirts... This team, this group could have been saved. They had a contract until 2024. In the last couple of months... Renat contacted over 200 companies, But this isn't the time to do certain things. The budgets are already set.
A political move…
And not only of the UCI, but also of the HeatIt's not true that there's no connection between sports and politics. In fact, there was total political pressure. But what do we have to do with all this? I have friends in both Russia and Ukraine and psychologically it is doubly painful for me. We are all against war, but this is how it was done, when there are constantly more or less 20 conflicts in the world.
We've often talked about the riders, but how does the staff live? What happened to them?
They're out of work. Everyone's out of the game. No pay. They work day in and day out, doing their utmost to support their family. So I ask myself: shouldn't the UCI be helping its members? All I know is that there are 80 families who no longer have a salary, and over half of them aren't even Russian.
What prospects are there?
We waited for the CAS's response to the UCI's decision to revoke our license, to speed up the process, but they told us they couldn't respond and that our case would be treated as a normal lawsuit. So, months, if not years, will pass.
And now you and your colleagues are free?
Yes, with the license expiring, we're free. Staff, riders, sport directors... some riders have tried to find a job, but the teams are full. We've asked the UCI through their agents to expand the team space, but again, no response. And if that's the case for the riders, let's not even talk about the Russian staff or riders. Does it seem normal to you that people can't have the right to do their jobs? I'm a pacifist and truly international because of where I've lived and worked, but This diplomacy doesn't seem very diplomatic to me. I only know that I lost a three-year work contract.
No, really little diplomacy and little common sense…
I have friends in the group, I could ask, but I'd feel sorry for Khamidulin. It was a great project. He had built an excellent structure, and it didn't take much to make the step to WorldTour. I hope he doesn't lose his desire and enthusiasm, because in this situation, it really doesn't take much. He'd been working on it for 10 years. I talk to riders every day. Every time they ask me what they're going to do. I tell them to keep feeling like racers, to train, but they have to keep going at all costs, because if they lose their sense of belonging to the group, of racing, they'll have trouble riding the bike in certain situations, keeping an eye on things, dealing with certain peaks of fatigue... basically, I tell them: try to get organized.
