On Sunday 23 October, the Women’s Road Championships of Afghanistan will take place in Aigle, Switzerland.
It will be a big day for these young women, who are being given the chance to compete safely and freely in their sport that is a dangerous activity in their own country.
It is also a big day for Alex Greenfield, a Welsh coach who has been preparing 14 of the Afghan women for the last four months.
Assistant Sport Director with UCI Women’s WorldTeam Uno-X Pro Cycling Team, Alex Greenfield met “her” athletes in Aigle in May and has since then been in weekly contact, sending them their training schedules, receiving feedback and working with them to ensure they all achieve their goals on 23 October. This week she is in Aigle to help them, and all the participants from different countries, put the final touches to their preparation.
“For those who have aspirations to race competitively, I have tried to share some knowledge and help them improve in each training session,” say the former athlete and UCI-certified coach. “But my goal for all of them is to grow a love and passion for cycling and see how this sport can bring a huge amount of joy.
“These National Championships are a huge deal for these females but at the same time they shouldn’t be a huge deal. Access for women to compete in National Championships should be a given. And that is what I would like to aspire to… to it being commonplace each year with numbers growing year on year.
“I am sure these women all have incredibly motivating stories about how they have got to the start line, but I am trying to focus on what’s in front of us. It’s a cycling race where we can try to prepare our best and show a young developing nation that we support them in growing a sport that everyone should have free access to.”
She adds: “I have learnt that even a small amount of knowledge and structure can have a huge impact for a developing nation like Afghanistan. So the overall goal for me is to make cycling a more accessible sport for all athletes, regardless of their background.”
A busy racing schedule with the Uno-X Pro Cycling Team has meant that Alex Greenfield has had to coach the Afghans from a distance. Language barriers have also been a challenge but overcome thanks to online translation programmes and a desire from all involved to work as a team.
“Even so, I have missed the face-to-face interaction that I had with them during the initial camp in May. I think we can all agree online communications is second best to in-person meetings.
“I really enjoyed my week in May with the group cycling and coaching, and it’s wonderful to see everyone here again this week.
“Whatever happens at the race on Sunday, these women have made great progress and, most importantly, have been free to practice the sport they love without suffering reprisals.”
The organisation of the 2022 Women's Road Championships of Afghanistan is part of the continuing efforts of the UCI and its partners to support and assist the Afghan Cycling Federation.
The women will compete on a course comprising two laps of a 28.5 km circuit with a 72 m difference in altitude (total: 57 km with a 144 m difference in altitude). The race will start at the UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC) - the UCI's high-level education and training centre located in Aigle - at 09h30 CEST and finish at the same place.