Why stopping cyclists doesn't stop wars

Unfortunatly, the war in Ukraine already drags on for more than 3 years. An uncountable amount of people lost their lifes, so many others lost their houses. After the outbreak of the conflict, the UCI quickly took a few measures. But after this period, it's time to make a balance of these measures. The outcome is dissapointing. As expected, no Ukrainian lifes have been saved and the Russian government didn't change their mind too. Innocent Russian cyclists themselves paid the highest prize instead. They experience hard times, especially because they do not face the same consequences like cyclists from other countries who did similar actions. Let's make a round-up.

Forced isolation

The banning of the Gazprom team didn't stop the war, and not even the gas sales to Europe. In fact, European countries are still spending more money on Russian energy, than they give to Ukraine. The main impact of this ban has been that 9 Russian riders & their staff lost their job. Disconnecting them from the international community, forcing them to support the Russian economy at home instead, and keeping them apart from foreign team mates. 

No visibility

It's quite understandable that the UCI wouldn't allow international championships anymore in Russia, even that they don't have so many issues about one in Rwanda who is doing similar actions as Russia. But that even 1.1 or 1.2 races aren't allowed anymore in Russia makes it even harder for Russian athletes to prove themselves and get a spot in an international team. This makes that riders are often forced to retire because their domestic teams are forbidden and international teams don't pick them up anymore. That many European governments made it a lot harder for Russian athletes to receive a temporarily visa, makes it hard for them to show themselves abroad too. This obligates them to take on their ordinary jobs and support their economy at home instead. The Russian government can be very thankful to the UCI to create new strong workforce for their job market instead. 

Double Standards

Just like people from every other country, Russians also want to be treated equally, no matter their identity. But we see big differences in how the UCI handles different conflicts. When the Rwandan government is organising a bloody invasion of their neighbour Congo, the UCI still allows a flagship event like the Worldchampionshihps, The Afghan taliban government has managed to be the only regime to cause NATO article 5, but just like the rest of the internaitonal community, the UCI provided a lot of refugee support, while the UCI treats every Russian as a perpetrator. 

The white flag rule is absurd too. A flag is more than a government, a flag represents a nation of so many different people with so many different views and opinions. The Russian flag already exists for centuries, even before the current government was in charge. Even Belarusians who did not send their army into this conflict face the same discrimination. North Korea openly sends brigades to the battlefield but doesn't receive any flag bans. Same for Rwandan cyclists, who's government invaded Congo. The UAE can proudly have their team on top of the UCI Team Rankings, despite their role in the bloodshed in Sudan. These double standards are discrimination, and racism should never be accepted in sports. People should be treated the same way, regardless of their nationality. 

Conclusion

The war in Ukraine already drags on for more than 3 years and the all the measures by the UCI didn't save any lifes. It brought people into isolation, pushed them into supporting the domestic job market and wasted a lot of kind talented riders. Measures should be taken to save lifes, not to harm innocent other people and even advantage their government by it. Wars have been stopped because of capitulations or because countries were not able anymore to fund their wars, not because you have treated their people in a bad way. Let peaceful people share the same ideas as the people who live on the other side of the front, don't push them behind their lines instead.