Prior to the UCI's decision to suspend all Russian and Belarusian teams, Gazprom Rusvelo was scheduled to compete in the Trofeo Liguria in a non-branded jersey, but with the loss of UCI status, the team is still looking to return to the peloton.

The UCI's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine followed recommendations from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The UCI still allows Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete if they are registered on foreign teams, but not all nationalities on teams registered in Russia and Belarus.

Gazprom Rusvelo, a professional team sponsored by Russia's majority state-owned energy group, was removed from Wednesday's Trofeo Liguria on the eve of the race because it had already tried to take steps to remove its name and logo from the jersey and equipment.

"We were prepared to have the team car in neutral white. To bring a message of peace to the Trofeo Raiglia, we also made the jersey white," Renato Camidulin, general manager of Gazprom Rusvelo, said in an article on the Italian website Tuttobiciweb.

"We were ready to do our part, but the instructions of the IOC and the UCI did not take away our hopes, but amputated our legs. We sent some suggestions to the World Governing Bodies and it comforts us that the dialogue with them is going on."

The team is also looking for a way to keep the 21-member team, which spans six countries, competing, even though its bicycle and wheel suppliers, French companies Look and Colima, also cut off their support this week.

"Cycling, our team could be messengers of peace," Camidulin said in an article on Tuttobiciweb. 'We don't want war, we want peace.'

The team includes three Italians, Giovanni Carboni, Nicola Conti, and Alessandro Fedeli; Matthias Vacek and his compatriot Michal Kukule from the Czech Republic, who recently won a stage at the UAE Tour; and Russian Sergey Chernetsky and Nikolai Cherkasov, were on the start list for the Laiglia Trophy.

Italian rider Fedeli, who signed with Gazprom-RusVelo after the disappearance of his former team Delko due to the decision to expel the team, was soon faced with the prospect of few opportunities to wear the number and told Bici.pro, "My dreams were shattered."

"I would like to know at this point why Russian riders on German and British teams can continue to race. In an environment accustomed to mixing nationalities, it is a measure that promotes hatred," Fedeli said.

"In our team we have Italians, Russians, Czechs like Marcin Vacek, who won in the UAE, and Costa Ricans. The headquarters is in Italy, the team car has Italian numbers, and the money comes from Germany."

Fideli told Bici.pro in an article that he was on the team's side and could not say anything about the war. However, many players in the peloton have expressed sympathy for the Ukrainian people. Among them was Russian Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers), who strongly expressed his opposition to the war on social media, adding a request that individual Russians not become targets of hatred because of their origins.

At the start of the Italian race, the Dronehopper-Androni Giocattoli team also took to the stage and signed the Ukrainian national champion jersey in support of their young teammate, Andrei Ponomar.

Once the race got underway, UAE Team Emirates' Jan Polanc caught the lead trio on the Trofeo Raigeria and held on for the solo win.

Asked if he still watched the event after the teams were excluded, Camidulin told an Italian website: "I love this sport. If we had entered the race, UAE Emirates would not have dominated the podium."