The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has announced that 49 athletes will compete in the Women’s Road Championships of Afghanistan, with the event taking place on October 23 in Aigle (Switzerland).
Afghan women now living in Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany, Canada and Singapore, are on the start list for Sunday’s road race.
Riders will compete on a course comprising two laps of a 28.5 km circuit with a 72m difference in altitude (total: 57 km with a 144 m difference in altitude). The peloton will ride through the towns of Aigle, Yvorne, Rennaz and Vouvry, in the Chablais region of Vaud.
The race will start at 09:30 and finish at the UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC), the UCI’s high-level education and training centre located in Aigle.
Two separate titles will be awarded: one for the riders in the Elite category, and the other for those in the Under 23 category. Although, all the participants will start simultaneously and cover the same distance.
UCI WCC Director Jacques Landry said “Quite apart from being given the opportunity to safely practice the sport they love, [riders] are being integrated into their new lives, learning the language, finding their own accommodation, and many are already working or studying.
“The goal is to make them independent and self-sufficient. The UCI WCC is delighted to welcome them to Aigle for their National Championships.”
The 2022 Women’s Road Championships of Afghanistan are jointly organised by the UCI WCC, the Afghan Cycling Federation, the organising committee of the Tour du Pays de Vaud and the Commune of Aigle.
The event is part of the continuing efforts of the UCI and its partners to support and assist the Afghan Cycling Federation, in line with the values of the Olympic Movement which promote peace and development through sport.
