"Unfortunately for the women of Afghanistan today sport is prohibited. What girls dream of today is to be able to go to school, competing is already something completely unthinkable"
This is how Masomah Alizada, 26, who has lived in Lille since 2017, expressed herself before starting her country's road cycling championship, which this year was held far from Afghanistan due to the rise to power of the Taliban where women , withdrawn from the public sphere, cannot play sports.
50 runners participated in the race held in Aigle (Switzerland), headquarters of the International Cycling Union. All of them residents outside their country, posed with the Afghan flag before leaving with their bicycles to compete in a 57-kilometer race, with only 72 meters of difference in altitude despite running through alpine landscapes.
"We hope that this race sends a message, that the world must help the women of Afghanistan with more than words, it is not enough for them to tell us that they are sad for us," added Alizada.
Many of the competitors had to live an authentic odyssey to leave their country after the Taliban came to power, something they achieved after months of paperwork and failed evacuation attempts, in which the UCI and politicians from various countries were involved.
"This championship, more than a sports competition, is a message of hope to the women of Afghanistan, to whom we say that we continue to remember them, telling them that playing sports is still possible and that we hope that one day the race can return. to Afghan territory," said David Lappartient, president of the UCI.
