Cycling Canada bans Russian and Belarusian national teams from participating in all UCI sanctioned events in Canada, including the Track Nationals Cup at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton from May 12-15.

International Cycling.

The national sport governing bodies issued a statement directly following the decision by the International Cycling Union (UCI) to immediately suspend all Russian and Belarusian teams, including Gazprom-Rusvelo, from competition in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, using Belarus as a staging ground for the battle.

"Cycling Canada, along with the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), strongly condemns the Russian and Belarusian governments' aggression and refusal to respect the Olympic Truce Agreement," read the statement released on Thursday.

On Monday, the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that international sports federations and organizers "not invite or allow Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials to participate in international competitions."

"We were among the UCI members who appealed to the UCI for strong action and are pleased that yesterday the UCI issued a statement confirming that it will impose sanctions with immediate effect. Cycling Canada would also like to express its support for the Ukrainian Cycling Federation and all those affected by the tragedy taking place in Ukraine."

"In accordance with current UCI sanctions, Cycling Canada prohibits the participation by the national teams of Russia and Belarus (as defined by the UCI) in all UCI international competitions in their countries, including the UCI Track Nations Cup scheduled for May 12-15 in Milton, Ontario. The UCI will prohibit the participation of Russian and Belarusian national teams in all UCI international competitions in their countries, including the UCI Track Nationals Cup. Additional measures may be adopted as the situation continues to be monitored.

The UCI Track Nations Cup will be held in three rounds, with the first round taking place April 21-24 in Glasgow, the second round May 12-15 in Milton, and the final round July 7-10 in Cali.