The Road Cycling World Cups take place in Australia and on Sunday, the final day of competition, the elite men’s endurance race is on the program, featuring some of today’s greatest runners such as Remco Evenepoel, Van Aert, Van der Poel , Pogacar and the Portuguese João Almeida. But there is one name that sparks curiosity: Rien Schuurhuis, an illustrious Dutch stranger who will make history by becoming the first cyclist in history to represent the Vatican in an international event of the sport. That is why he is even called the Pope’s cyclist.
Schuurhuis, 40, despite being a professional, has no cycling background. And the question arises. How can a Dutch cyclist represent the Vatican? Easy. Rien has been married to Chiara Porro, the Australian Ambassador to the Holy See since 2020. That is why he was given permission to join the Pope for the Athletica Vaticana team, the official sports organization of the Holy See.
“It is an incredible honour,” he said in statements to official Vatican media,” the cyclist said in statements to the Vatican newspaper. “Since I arrived in Rome in 2020, I was immediately drawn to the values and community spirit of Athletica Vaticana. Pope Francis’ attention to sport as a vehicle of encounter is in deep harmony with my life experience. I’ve always had a special affection for the underprivileged and would love to see a cyclist from an emerging country win. The Eritrean Biniam Girmay, for example, has already proven its worth. The layout is to my liking. I like hills more, but I have the physique to ride on flat roads. I like to try to escape and guide riders from other teams to reach the finish,” he added.
In order to make Schuurhuis’ dream come true, Athletica Vaticana’s squad decided to register with the International Cycling Union (UCI) in September 2021, which gave them the chance to participate in this year’s World Cup. Accept the application, Valerio Agnoli, a former Italian professional cyclist who for many years was a good support for the names of Iván Basso or Vincenzo Nibali in Astana, has been appointed as coach.
The Pope’s cyclist, as he has already been called by the Italian media, who have paid a lot of attention to his participation, says he was inspired by Miguel Induráin, for “modesty and humility inside and outside cycling”, but he also has Cipollini as idols. and Gino Bartali. The latter, winner of three Tour de France and Italy, also played an active social role, saving 800 Jews from the Nazis. In addition, he was extremely religious and very close to Pope Pius XII.
Athletica Vaticana was founded in 2019 and is staffed by employees of the Vatican. The goal was to create a sports team to participate in the Mediterranean Games and other minor competitions. After athletics, padel, judo or taekwondo, it is now the turn of cycling.
It will not be the first time that the Vatican team has been represented in an international competition. In 2019, Vincenzo Puccio, a Sicilian priest, came second in the Messina marathon. And last year Sara Carnicellim, brother of a Vatican official, finished ninth in the half marathon in Oran, Algeria.
Source: DN
