The history of sport is full of heroicities and records They seem impossible to beat. Also of moments of great cruelty, where the elite athlete “dies” on the shore, just a few seconds, meters or even centimeters of glory. Therefore, the story of a French cyclist who has been so close to being crowned with A historical deed It is being news these days.
TO Sofiane Sehili44 years old, he only lacked Russia, and there it continues.
An interrupted epic trip. As we said, Sofiane I was nothing to be crowned in the History books: Nothing less than a bicycle, without assistance, 17 countries from Cabo Dan Roca in Portugal to Vladivostok at the eastern end of Russia in just 62 days, which would have exceeded the 64 -day world record.
After about 18,000 kilometers of inhospitable roads, storms, tremendous nights in Mongolian gas stations and China’s infinite steppes, he was at just 180 kilometers of your goal when He was arrested On September 2 by Russian border guards in the Irf region, accused of cross illegally From China despite having a valid visa. Your odyssey, narrated in videos They showed both the pain of pedaling with the feet sunk in mud and wet socks and the joy when contemplating wild horses and lonely landscapes, it has ended abruptly in a cell.
The Euroasyatic labyrinth. The arrest occurred after VAryans frustrated attempts to cross the border between China and Russia. In official positions, the step was denied because only Chinese or Russian citizens can enter a bicycle, while in other steps only access by car, bus or train is admitted. After these rejections, Sehili tried to advance by a forest near Suifenhe and, by showing his passport to the Russian guards, It was arrested.
Your partner, Fanny Bensussan, confirmed thatafter being rejected at the official crosses, he looked for alternative routes, which precipitated his arrest. The Ussuriysk court ordered its imprisonment until October 4 waiting for trial, without formal charges.
From record to hostage. Sehili’s case cannot be separated of a pattern Increasingly evident in Moscow: the arrest of foreigners in what analysts and NGOs qualify as “hostage diplomacy.” Russia has accumulated notable history, such as the basketball player Brittney Grinerthe journalist of the Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich or the consultant Paul Whelanamong others, used as exchange sheets by Russians convicted in the West.
French citizens have also suffered this policy, such as the researcher Laurent Vinatierconvicted of not registering as a “foreign agent” and recently accused of espionage at risk of Up to 20 years in jail. In this context, the imprisonment of a resistance athlete, although apparently the result of a border incident is also interpreted as a political movement of international pressure.
The human dimension of the challenge. Beyond geopolitics, Sehili’s journey illustrates the hardness of the Ultra-resistance challenges. Throughout his journey, the man faced frozen nights in cement floors, hotels without minimal conditions, constant breakdowns, wind against and the wear of pedaling more than 270 kilometers a day.
In his storiesmoments of absolute hopelessness were mixed (when he confessed not to want to move on) with moments of total serenityin which he recognized that these adventures made sense of his life. Human contact, such as the gesture of a Chinese woman who He offered hot food And he introduced his children after a rainy and cold day, worked as small reminders of the value of his trip.
Disturbing precedent. That Russia has arrested a cyclist On the edge of a world record, it places resistance sport on unpublished field, where physical and personal challenges can collide with the political interests of the states. Sehili’s image, exhausted but determined to reach Vladivostok, contrasts with the reality of a converted border In political trap.
His case, far from an anecdotal, emphasizes how even sports gestures can be trapped in a geopolitical scenario where governments They instrumentalize citizens foreigners to send forces of strength or to prepare future diplomatic exchanges. On the border between sports feat and repressive diplomacy, Sehili’s journey will remain as a symbol of the individual’s fragility in the face of power calculations.
Image | Capture/ YouTube
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