Russian cyclist Daria Pravilova, who won the World Amateur Championship in the discipline "gravel" in the Netherlands, sang the anthem of Russia during the award ceremony, although she was carefully silenced by Beethoven's "Ode to Joy".
Pravilova also faced hostility from Lithuanian Daiva Ragazhinskene, who took second place. She didn't want to take a shared photo.
"I didn't have any conversations with her at all. I didn't have any communication problems with other athletes," said Pravilova, noting that Belgian athlete Elke Timperman, on the contrary, encouraged her when the Lithuanian refused to stand next to her.
Pravilova also said that "bullying on this topic" began in social networks.
"My friends watched the story of this girl, she reposted the stories of her teammates, as I understand it. And they were discussing my photos taken at the end of last year, where I'm spinning a machine in my apartment in a bicycle with the inscription Russia national team. In their opinion, I was not allowed to show this inscription. I have screenshots with their signatures that Russia is an aggressor country, and people hope that I will be disqualified," Pravilova is indignant.
However, the disqualification is a blunder. Pravilova is an amateur, and "you can't make demands on her like professional athletes," the athlete explained.
The World Championship in gravel — cycling on roads with gravel or unpaved — was held from October 11 to 12 in the Netherlands. The Russian took first place in the amateur race for athletes aged 35 to 39 years.
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