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Vatican Cycling

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Vatican Cycling
SportCycling
JurisdictionVatican City
AffiliationUnion Cycliste Internationale
Affiliation date2021
Regional affiliationUnion Européenne de Cyclisme
HeadquartersDicastery for Culture and Education
PresidentEmiliano Morbidelli
Vice president(s)Massimiliano Coluccio
SecretarySimone Ciochetti
Vatican City

Vatican Cycling is the national governing body for cycle sport in Vatican City. Established as a part of Vatican Athletics, it is the first Vatican sports governing body to gain membership of a world governing body after becoming a member of the Union Cycliste Internationale on 24 September 2021; it is also a member of the Union Européenne de Cyclisme. Vatican Cycling governs and holds events regarding cycle sport within the nation and selects athletes to represent Vatican City in international competitions such as the World Championships. The current president of the body is Emiliano Morbidelli.

History

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Cycle sport before Vatican Cycling

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Originally, cycle sport and cycling itself was initially frowned upon by the Catholic Church as it was deemed dangerous and risky. Sports that had been labeled as such include boxing and rugby which were deemed violent, and football being frowned upon because of its Anglo-Saxon and "Protestant roots."[1] L'Osservatore Romano, a Vatican newspaper, labeled cycling as "true global, transport anarchy".[2]

Cycle sport in Europe proliferated at the start of the 20th century to the point of the creation of races such as the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia. Pope Pius X blessed an amateur cycling race that started in Rome; Pope Benedict XV did the same for the same race a few years later.[3] Vatican City was even used as a venue for the 1974 Giro d'Italia, where it was used as a starting point for the course. The riders paid homage to Pope Paul VI before starting the race.[4]

A man (pictured on a zebra crossing) seen cycling in Vatican City in 2007

In 2019, members of the Union Européenne de Cyclisme, the European governing body for cycle sport, and Confédération Africaine de Cyclisme, the African governing body for cycle sport, visited Pope Francis at the Apostolic Palace, as they had their respective congresses earlier in Rome. During the visit, the Pope spoke about how road cycling included merits of teamwork and likened it to helping others.[5]

Creation of Vatican Cycling

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Vatican Cycling was created as a part of Vatican Athletics, the nation's official athletics team, as the national governing body for cycle sport within Vatican City.[6][7] It is housed by the Dicastery for Culture and Education at Via della Conciliazione.[8] The organization became a member of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and Union Européenne de Cyclisme during the 190th Congress of the UCI on 24 September 2021. The membership of Vatican Cycling to the UCI made it the first Vatican sports governing body to become a member of a world governing body of an Olympic sport.[9][6] As of 2022, Vatican Cycling has 55 members.[5]

Management and reception

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The first president was Giampaolo Mattei,[5] while the current president of Vatican Cycling is Emiliano Morbidelli, who is also a long-distance runner who had competed for the nation in international competition such as the Championships of the Small States of Europe.[10][11] The vice president of the organization is Massimiliano Coluccio, while its secretary is Simone Ciochetti.[8] Former cyclist Valerio Agnoli is also part of the management team as the external relationship manager of the body.[12][13] Then-president Mattei had opined that the founding of Vatican Cycling was "very significant".[5]

Events

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The first two cycling activities Vatican Cycling organized were held in c. 2020 and were dedicated to para-cyclist Alex Zanardi, who is considered to be one of "Italy's greatest athletes".[5] It has also held charity and disability awareness cycling events within the Vatican.[11]

Dutch-born cyclist Rien Schuurhuis was the first athlete to represent Vatican City as a regular scoring competitor after competing in the men's road race at the 2022 UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia,[14] although he did not finish the race.[15] Schuurhuis was eligible to represent Vatican City as he gained citizenship through his marriage with Chiara Porro, the former Ambassador of Australia to the Holy See.[14] He has also represented Vatican City at the 2023 and 2024 editions of the world championships, and the 2024 European Championships, all in the same event.[12]

See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Martin 2011, p. 546.
  2. ^ Martin 2011, p. 547.
  3. ^ Motus, Bobby (6 June 2025). "The Vatican and cycling". The Freeman. Philippine Star. Archived from the original on 6 June 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  4. ^ "Giro d'Italia 1968–1977 Archives". La Gazzetta dello Sport. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Cycling in Vatican City". Union Cycliste Internationale. 7 June 2022. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b Dowdeswell, Andrew (23 November 2021). "Vatican Taekwondo becomes World Taekwondo member and city state's second NGB with international recognition". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023.
  7. ^ Picheta, Rob; Borghese, Livia (11 January 2019). "Godspeed! Vatican launches official athletics team". CNN. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Vatican Cycling". Union Européenne de Cyclisme. Archived from the original on 27 April 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  9. ^ "190th Congress of the UCI: David Lappartient re-elected to the head of the UCI - 2025 UCI Road World Championships to take place in Kigali". Union Cycliste Internationale. 24 September 2021. Archived from the original on 24 January 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  10. ^ "Fraternity in sports". L'Osservatore Romano. 17 June 2022. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  11. ^ a b Mattei, Giampaolo (13 June 2022). "Athletica Vaticana, pedalando per una disabilità senza limiti" [Athletica Vaticana, pedaling for a disability without limits] (in Italian). Vatican News. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  12. ^ a b Ramsay, George; Lamb, Christopher (20 November 2024). "Can the sporty be Godly? Why the Vatican is in the race to become a global sporting presence". CNN Sports. Archived from the original on 18 December 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  13. ^ Pender, Kieran (23 September 2022). "Vatican sends holy rouleur Down Under on world road cycling mission". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 December 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Vatican rider to make history at world road cycling championships". NBC Sports. 23 September 2022. Archived from the original on 31 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Final Results / Résultat final Men Elite Road Race". Tissot Timing. 25 September 2022. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2024.

Bibliography

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