"A trip to Belarus is unjustified": how European countries refuse the European Championship on the cycle track in Minsk and demand to transfer it

The European Track Cycling Championship in Minsk, which is scheduled for June 23-27, is in jeopardy.

Several teams refused to participate in it after the incident with the Ryanair aircraft, and now the competition can be transferred from Belarus to another country.

The German team was the first to announce its unwillingness to participate in the competitions, which can be called the main rehearsal before the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The Cycling Federation of Germany told the European Cycling Union (UEC) that it “cannot compete in the European Championship in light of the recent events” that took place in Belarus, and suggested finding another venue for the competition.

The representatives of the German federation added that the UEC is also concerned about the current situation, and on Thursday the Union will hold a meeting to solve the problem and, probably, move the championship to another country.

Later, the UEC confirmed that this issue will indeed be discussed at a meeting of the governing council, and a decision on the holding of the European Championship will be made on May 27.

Until that moment, there will be no other official comments on the topic.

The Netherlands national team also joined Germany.

Thorvald Veneberg, director of the Royal Cycling Union of the Netherlands, said that the decision to withdraw from participation was dictated by the safety of the athletes.

“We decided not to go.

In the current conditions, a trip to Belarus is unjustified for athletes and personnel.

This is not a political statement.

We made this decision, proceeding from considerations of safety and welfare of the riders ", - quotes Veneberg RIA Novosti with reference to NOS.

The head of the Dutch federation noted that such a decision was made by his organization independently.

In his opinion, if other countries join the boycott, the UEC will have no choice but to cancel or postpone the competition.

Veneberg also said that if the European Championship takes place elsewhere, the Netherlands national team will come to it.

Great Britain also opposed the European championship in Minsk.

The sports director of the British Cycling Federation Stephen Park said that Belarus should not host the competition under any circumstances and called on the UEC to take action.

“Due to the fact that 27 EU member states have banned their airlines from flying over Belarus and threaten it with further economic sanctions, the UEC simply will not be able to host the European Track Cycling Championships in Minsk next month,” Park wrote on Twitter.

Calls to transfer the championship of the continent from Belarus have already sounded more than once this year before the incident with the Ryanair aircraft. In March, the non-state Belarusian Sports Solidarity Fund wrote a letter to the UEC demanding to change the venue of the tournament due to human rights violations in the country. But then the European Cycling Union noted that it was not possible to transport the competition to another country.

“We have signed a contract, according to which these competitions must be held at a specific time in a specific place. We were unable to find another suitable venue for the dates indicated. As you know, we have all suffered as a result of the pandemic, especially for track cyclists who were unable to compete. The recent cancellation of the Nations Cup in Newport is an example. Therefore, the European Championship will be a key event for European cyclists in terms of preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games, ”said the head of the UEC Enrico Della Casa.

According to the Cyclingtips portal, in recent months several countries have expressed their desire to host the European Championship and have contacted the UEC about this.

The Netherlands, Lithuania and Denmark allegedly approached the parent organization with proposals, and the latter promised to fully cover all the costs of the competition.

However, the UEC refused the porting every time.

Earlier, several major competitions have already been moved from Belarus.

The World Ice Hockey Championship, which is taking place these days, was entrusted to Latvia, and the world championship in modern pentathlon, which was to be held in Minsk from June 7 to 13, was moved to Egypt.

Also in Belarus, the European Football Championship among girls under 19 was supposed to take place in the summer, but it was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead, it is planned that the country will be eligible to host the tournament in 2025.

After the Olympic Games in Tokyo, the next major competition in track cycling will be the World Championship in Turkmenistan, and against the background of events around Belarus, a discussion about a boycott of these competitions may also unfold. At least Veneberg already admits such a possibility. He said that the International Cycling Union should receive a signal that not all countries agree with the decision to hold a world forum in Ashgabat.