Holy rouleur is sent on a world road cycling mission by the Vatican.
Holy rouleur is sent on a world road cycling mission by the Vatican. On Sunday, when Rien Schuurhuis competes in the men’s road race at the UCI Road World Championships, he will bring a unique. Hence, dare to say, sacred presence to the most important one-day race in all cycling.
While Schuurhuis will stand out like a sore thumb in a pack of over 200 cyclists from a few dozen countries, he will make history as the first cyclist from Vatican City to compete for the holy rainbow jersey.
UCI
The Vatican, a minor sovereign city-state ruled by the Catholic Church and located in Rome, Italy, joined the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) last year. Athletica Vaticana was founded in 2018 to promote sporting events for Vatican staff, citizens, and immediate families. Pope Francis has given the effort his full blessing.
Schuurhuis, 40, is a dual citizen of the Netherlands and Australia. He has lived in the Vatican City State for two years with his wife, Chiara Porro, Australia’s Ambassador to the Holy See.
Before joining the Australian team Oliver’s Real Food, he rode for several semi-professional teams across Asia.
Several top-ten stages finishes at races in Indonesia and Malaysia highlight his career, and he placed 40th in the individual time trial at the 2018 Dutch national championships.
Declaration
Schuurhuis told Guardian Australia on Friday, “It’s extremely special, and I am quite honored that I was chosen for this occasion.”
But this is a team effort; I’m just the rider; there are three other representatives here. The whole crew pitches in to take care of everything associated with it. Our pride is immense.
Valerio Agnoli, the external relations manager for Vatican Cycling, is a former pro cyclist who has supported riders like Vincenzo Nibali while riding for teams like Astana and Bahrain-Merida.
If you believe Schuurhuis, the Pope created Athletica Vaticana “to use athletics as a vehicle to promote inclusion and fraternity, bringing people closer together.” When taking a game on the road, like in any other sporting event, the objective is the same for all players.
No matter who you are or where you’re from or what faith you practice or how old you are, deep down, we’re all the same.
The rider claims that Schuurhuis was instantly drawn to Athletica Vaticana after landing in Rome. He explains that he is now a squad member and that he was asked whether he wanted to go to the global championships a few months ago. I felt tremendously honored.
Vatican
Since Schuurhuis’ wife is the Australian ambassador, he is allowed to represent the Vatican.
There is a diplomatic element to this trip to Australia and the cycling. The Vatican’s delegation spent Friday at Caritas Australia, the Catholic Church’s humanitarian arm, to hear about truth-telling and reconciliation with Australia’s First Nations.
Uncle Roger Jarrett, a former resident of the Kinchela Boy Home, agreed to meet with them (a notorious institution where members of the Stolen Generation were forcibly taken).
The Vatican must participate in this and promote this message, so we have made it part of our mandate,” Schuurhuis added. Archbishop Charles Balvo, the new Apostolic Nuncio of the Vatican to Australia, also greeted the visitors.
On the road, Schuurhuis has stated his desire to increase the size of the Vatican cycling team in the future.
The UCI now includes a mixed time trial relay in the world championships, with three women and three men competing. Tahiti, New Caledonia, and Samoa, three of the world’s smallest nations, all entered the race this year.
Schuurhuis exclaims, “It was wonderful to see [my friends] here” (he and his wife previously spent time living in the Pacific).
Given that winning a relay race requires cooperation from all participants, “my ideal scenario would involve a team of Vatican women and men.” However, only Schuurhuis will represent the Vatican in the international peloton on Sunday.
The 267-kilometer course has roughly 4,000 meters of elevation change. While larger cycling nations will have complete teams (Australia is entering a squad of eight riders), Schuurhuis will have to compete alone.
Statement
Simply “being there at the start-line” is the message he hopes to convey.
Pope Francis made religious allusions when speaking at a cycling congress in 2019. “During the races, the whole team works together, and when a companion is going through a time of trouble, it is his teammates that support and accompany him,” he stated.”
Just as it is vital to cultivate an attitude of compassion, charity, and community to aid others who have fallen behind and need assistance in achieving a given objective in life,” the author writes.
On Sunday, Schuurhuis may rely on these words and the backing of the global Catholic community. But if he gets left behind on the treacherous ascent of Mount Keira, he won’t have a single teammate from the Vatican come to his rescue. He may, instead, ask God to intervene.
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