sports
International Cycling Union lifts restrictions on Belarusian athletes and eases sanctions against Russians
The International Cycling Union (UCI) has completely lifted restrictions on Belarusian athletes and eased sanctions against Russian cyclists. This decision was made at a meeting of the organization's management committee, which took place from June 2nd to 4th in Desenzano del Garda, Italy. This is stated in a press release published by the UCI.
TL;DR
- UCI has completely removed restrictions on Belarusian athletes and national teams.
- Belarusian athletes can now participate in all international calendar events, including World Cups and World Championships, with national symbols.
- UCI has eased sanctions for Russian cyclists, simplifying their path to compete as individual neutral athletes (AIN).
- AIN status holders can now compete in team and collective events.
- Restrictions on using Russian national symbols remain in place.
- The UCI's decisions are based on recommendations from the IOC Executive Board published on May 7, 2026.
- IOC recommended lifting all restrictions for Belarusian athletes, citing no incidents during their neutral participation since March 2023.
- IOC maintained restrictions for Russian athletes, allowing only individual neutral participation without national teams or symbols.
- Initial restrictions were imposed in February 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.