CNN —Rien Schuurhuis never expected to win this year’s cycling world championships, nor come close to claiming the race’s distinctive rainbow jersey. For the sole representative of the Vatican City in the 200-strong field, simply being at the race in Switzerland was enough. “There was one hill in the (2022) world championships and everyone was yelling: ‘The Pope’s cyclist! At every race, Schuurhuis’ ultimate aim has been to get people talking about the team and what it represents. Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff, is a soccer fan who played as a goalkeeper and supported San Lorenzo while growing up in Argentina.

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