LONDON — After racing for the Russian team at the Tokyo Olympics, cyclist Pavel Sivakov has announced his change of nationality citing the war in Ukraine as a factor.
The 24-year-old Sivakov revealed that he grew up in France and had planned for the change of eligibility with the International Cycling Union (UCI) for a long time.
“I had wanted to become French for some time and had applied to the UCI for it, but given what is happening in Ukraine at the moment, I wanted to speed it up,” Sivakov said in a statement published by his British team Ineos.
Seven months ago, he competed for his parents’ country in the Tokyo Olympics and placed 32nd in the road race.
“I was born in Italy and moved to France when I was a year old,” Sivakov continued. France is where I grew up and studied and where I fell in love with cycling, which led me to competition.
“It’s my home. It would be a dream to race in Paris at the 2024 Olympics for France. »
