From Afghanistan to Aigle – The 2022 Women’s Road Championships of Afghanistan
The UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) World Cycling Centre based in Aigle, Switzerland, will play host to 49 Afghan cyclists for this year’s Women’s Road Championships of Afghanistan.
In a time of turmoil in a country that the competitors once called their home, the championship provides a platform to ignite social change and a reunion for former teammates and friends.
The race is on the 23rd of October and will be made up of an Elite and an Under 23 category, both of which will be competing alongside each other.
This year’s event was organised by UCI WCC alongside the Afghan Cycling Federation, the local Commune of Aigle, and the organisers of Tour du Pays de Vaud.
Following the horrific consequences of the Taliban regaining control of the country in August 2021, particularly for women, the UCI was contacted by the Afghan Cycling Federation for assistance.
As a result, the UCI alongside its partners were involved in helping to ensure the safe evacuation of 165 Afghan refugees in 2021.
UCI President, David Lappartient spoke of their involvement in the evacuation process in a recent UCI interview.
“We went through so much, and when we first left by bus from Kabul with our 125 people, because we had to cross some borders by bus with agreements that could not be honoured in the end, and you end up with 125 people in two or three buses in the middle of Afghanistan and you say to yourself: what should I do? In the end, the evacuation by plane was carried out which is not was initially planned. We had to land a plane in Afghanistan at the end of September without air traffic control, it wasn’t the easiest thing to do.”
Speaking in an incredibly moving video with the UCI, Afghan cyclist Wahida Gull shared her experience leaving her country and moving to Switzerland.
“When the Taliban took our country, I lost everything. There were many challenges and problems and for us, it was very difficult to leave Afghanistan. Because of the Taliban, because of the war, I left my family in the worst situation, in the worst conditions. Right now I can access the UCI facilities, it makes me happy and it makes me feel good.”
The first female cyclist from Afghanistan to compete at an Olympic Games, Masomah Ali Zada, will be one of the many competitors on the start line.
At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, she competed for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team in the individual time trial, after leaving Afghanistan in 2017 and claiming asylum in France alongside her family.
She had previously studied sport at university in Kabul and has gone on to study for a Masters in civil engineering in Lille. This summer, she was also made part of the IOC Athletes’ Commission.
In Kabul, she and her sister Zahra (who is also competing in the Road Championships), alongside a group of female cyclists faced severe threats for cycling.
This ultimately lead to them fleeing their country.
Ali Zada has called for this year’s Women’s Road Championships of Afghanistan to be a catalyst for social change, saying to Olympics.com in a recent interview:
“This championship is like an alarm clock for the world. This championship will help to make the media aware of the situation of women in Afghanistan. I hope the world which is asleep finally wakes up to help the women in my country.”
With women in Afghanistan currently banned from taking part in sport under the Taliban regime and many fleeing their homes, the 26-year-old has also expressed her thanks to the championship for allowing her to represent her country safely and reunite with her friends.
“ For me, since I arrived in France five years ago, I could not represent my country and now with this championship, I can participate in a race in the name of Afghanistan. And finally thanks to this championship I can see all my friends again, my teammates with whom I used to ride in Afghanistan until the Taliban came back. Now we will all gather again in Switzerland, remember our good memories and defend women’s rights together.”
Despite being a favourite to win the race, Ali Zada has stressed that the event holds more importance to her than winning.
In a recent interview with the UCI she said:
“It has been five years since I raced with Afghan women and it will recall memories of when I rode in Afghanistan. The most important at the Championships will be to see that a lot of these women cyclists are now safe, can study and ride their bikes. It is a joy for me to see all these women living in security thanks to the UCI.”
The riders will complete two laps of a 28.5km course, with the race finishing at the UCI World Cycling Centre in Aigle.
One would hope that event not only provides a fantastic race but also a stage for the harsh reality of the circumstances the athletes have faced to make it to the start line to be considered.
Alongside this, the World is reminded of the incomprehensible atrocities which are being faced to this day by the women of Afghanistan at the hands of the Taliban.
