Pavel Sivakov, an Ineos cyclist, decided to change his nationality, from Russian to French, amid the tension that world sport is experiencing due to the war situation between Russia and Ukraine.
This Wednesday, the procedure was accepted by the International Cycling Union (UCI). Thus, the broker will not be affected by the sanctions imposed by the International Federation on Russia. To date, the Russian teams and their national squad have been suspended. Therefore, they will not be able to be in any event of the highest category of cycling. The national emblems of Russia were also banned.
“I wanted to become French for a long time and, in fact, I applied to the UCI (International Cycling Union). But, given what is happening in Ukraine at the moment, I wanted to speed things up.”Sivakov stated.
Pavel Shivakov
Sivakov was born in Italy 24 years ago, but moved to France with his family when he was barely a year old, so his training and education, both personal and sporting, is French. His link with Russia comes thanks to his parents, two former cyclists who were born there.
“I was born in Italy and moved to France when I was one year old. France is where I grew up and was educated, and where I fell in love with cycling, which is what made me happy. That’s how I became a professional. It’s like home.”assured this Thursday.
The cyclist, already French, will be able to compete with the French jersey in international competitions without problems.
“It would be a dream to race in Paris at the 2024 Olympics for France and that is something the team knows, they would fully support it,” he added.
On the crisis in Ukraine, Sivakov stated: “As I already said, I am totally against this war and all my thoughts are with the Ukrainian people. Like most of the world right now, I look forward to peace and a quick end to the suffering raging in Ukraine.”
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*With AFP and EFE
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