Russian motorcycle racer Anastasia Nifontova on the air of the program “There is a theme!” on , she said that she refused to participate in the Dakar Rally marathon, in particular because of a clause in the document according to which athletes can be withdrawn from competition at the last moment.
Earlier it was reported that to be admitted to the Dakar Rally, riders must sign a statement condemning the Russian special operation in Ukraine.
— The newspaper appeared in early March, when I arrived in the United Arab Emirates to participate in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. When the question arose of the admission of Russians to international starts, the International Motorcycle Federation excluded Russians and withdrew Russian athletes. The International Automobile Federation (FIA) was more loyal to the Russians. They said: let the Russian athletes participate, but without the flag and the anthem. We agreed and went into this race knowing that.
When we passed the technical and administrative checks, the paper appeared. She, most likely, did not appear from scratch, there was public pressure. The FIA started writing – you are weaklings. They were a bit scared and decided to cover the back and published this paper, absolutely political. In the pre-race turmoil, I saw it, said I would read it. (Cavalier) Konstantin Zhiltsov said: “Let’s not fuss, we have to send the paper to the lawyers.” When they watched it in Moscow and read it, it was all beautifully written, no tricks, but the diary was frankly political. Are you against your country, everything that’s going on? Stroll. There was the last paragraph, which says that even if you sign the paper, the organizers have the right to exclude the athlete. Therefore, in principle, it does not confer any rights.
Participation in the “Dakar” on a motorcycle is about 100,000 euros, on a car – a different amount. That is to say, you spend a lot of money, you come and they tell you: “You will not go.” It was impossible to take risks on all sides.
The last paragraph was not just about supporting Ukraine, but about my sharing my solidarity with the international federation and supporting the Automobile Federation of Ukraine, which then wrote letters to international organizations asking the Russians be expelled from everywhere and deprived of the right to participate in international races,” said Nifontova.
Source : MatchTV
