The Iranian delegation of six riders for the World Road Championships in Salzburg might not actually make it to Austria in time for the event. The riders and coaches were expected to arrive in the city Mozart on Monday, but did not show up. In a letter sent to Salzburg officials, the team declared that it was not going to be able to travel to Austria because the necessary visas could not be issued in time.
Nevertheless, the situation is confusing as the organising committee of the World's said that it had sent the necessary documents for visa application to the Austrian embassy in Teheran on August 29, and not, as the Iranian federation stated, only on September 10. The UCI was also surprised about it. "Problems with the delivering of visas are new to us," UCI press officer Enrico Carpani told Austrian media.
