MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/. The International Cycling Union (UCI) has cleared two Russian Paralympic cyclists to race as neutral athletes in all UCI-sponsored international competitions, the UCI announced in a document obtained by TASS on Tuesday.

The Russian athletes approved by the UCI are Sergey Syomochkin, who has two gold, two silver and five bronze medals in world championships in road and track competitions, and Kirill Kiysky, a multiple winner and medalist of Russian championships and cups.

Neutral status was also granted to Yury Mitrichenko and Yekaterina Mukhortova, the coaches of the Paralympic cyclists.

In May 2023, the UCI announced a decision to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international tournaments.

The UCI stated in particular, "to authorize, under strict conditions, the participation of athletes of Russian and Belarusian sporting nationality in events on the UCI International Calendar, including UCI World Cup and UCI Nations Cup events and UCI World Championships, as ‘neutral individual athletes,’ without them having any involvement or association with the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus, their National Federation or National Olympic Committee."