CAS rejected Gazprom-Rusvelo’s appeal to exclude the team from tournaments under the auspices of the UCI

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected Gazprom-Rusvelo’s appeal against the decision of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to suspend the team from participating in tournaments under the auspices of the organization, according to the official website of the UCI.

— Representatives of Gazprom-Rusvelo filed an appeal with the CAS on March 22, 2023, the court completely rejected the claims. The UCI welcomes this decision, which reinforces the strong position of the organization, indicates the press release.

By decision of the ICU, Russian and Belarusian athletes were suspended from competition for their national teams due to the situation in Ukraine. They may only be allowed to start under the auspices of the UCI in neutral status if they represent a registered professional team without a Russian or Belarusian flag.

Gazprom-Rusvelo, with a Russian title sponsor, is registered in Switzerland, its main base is in Italy and the team included nine Russians and seven Italians. The team filed a complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but lost the case. Now that the team has been disbanded, employees have lost their salaries.