The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is pleased to announce that the Afghanistan Women's Road Championships will be held again this year. The event will take place on 26 and 28 June as part of the 2025 French Elite Road Championships being organised from 26 to 29 June by the French Cycling Federation (Fédération Française de Cyclisme - FFC) in Les Herbiers, in the French department of Vendée.
The Afghanistan Women's Road Championships have not been held since 23 October 2022, when 50 refugee athletes competed in a one-off road race organised by the UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC), the Afghanistan Cycling Federation, the Tour du Pays de Vaud Organising Committee and the Municipality of Aigle, in Aigle, Switzerland. The Elite category was won by Fariba Hashimi, an athlete who went on to turn professional.
The event was part of the ongoing efforts of the UCI and its partners to provide support and assistance to the Afghanistan Cycling Federation following the Taliban's rise to power in August 2021 and the consequences this has had for part of the country's population, particularly women. In 2021, several evacuation operations were carried out either by the UCI or its partners, enabling 165 Afghan citizens to leave their country.
Two events will be on the programme for the 2025 Afghanistan Women's Road Championships: a 26.5 km individual time trial (with 400m of elevation gain) on Thursday 26 June and a 115.5 km road race (with 1,540m of elevation gain) on Saturday 28 June.
The Afghan riders will compete in both races alongside their French counterparts participating in their National Championships, and a separate classification for Afghan athletes only will be established to determine the results of the 2025 Afghanistan Women's Road Championships.
Five athletes will compete in the 2025 Afghanistan Women Elite Road Championships: Fariba Hashimi, Yuldoz Hashimi, Zahra Rezayee, Samira Ehrari and Mahnaz Mohammadi. The first three will take part in the individual time trial and the road race, while the latter two will compete only in the road race.
The UCI WCC – the UCI's training and education centre – will contribute to the smooth running of the 2025 Afghanistan Women's Road Championships by taking care of the Afghan athletes’ and their staff's travel, accommodation and assistance during the race.
UCI President David Lappartient said: “Seeing the best Afghan female cyclists again competing in their National Championships will undoubtedly be an emotional occasion and a source of pride, three years after the last edition of the event. Time has passed, and these athletes have now found their way thanks to cycling. I would like to thank the French Cycling Federation and its President Michel Callot from the bottom of my heart for their valuable collaboration. It is also thanks to them that this race can take place. I hope that this unique formula of a major National Federation hosting athletes from other countries – where it is not possible to hold such an event – as part of its own National Championships, will inspire others. Such gestures of solidarity from members of the international cycling community honour our sport and reaffirm its role as a promoter of our sport’s fraternity and of peace."
The President of the Fédération Française de Cyclisme Michel Callot said: “Organising National Championships for athletes who do not have their own is an act of hospitality that is in keeping with the values of sport. The Fédération Française de Cyclismeis proud to partner with the UCI to highlight the courage of Afghan women and give them a means of expression. We consider it our duty to show solidarity by responding to the request from our International Federation and opening our National Championships to those who are no longer able to practise their sport freely in their own country.”
The 2022 Afghan Road Champion Fariba Hashimi said: "The 2022 Afghan Women's Road Championships in Aigle marked the start of my professional cycling career at the highest level. After winning the Women Elite race, I had the opportunity to join a UCI Women's WorldTeam. So it’s with great emotion that I am preparing to defend my title. I obviously hope to win, but I also hope that the event will allow other athletes to shine. I would like to thank the UCI and the FFC for making this new edition of our National Championships possible. It is a wonderful demonstration of the solidarity that drives the international cycling community."