Following up on last month’s article regarding UCI President Brian Cookson’s desire to see cyclocross added to the Winter Olympics program, an article in the Belgian newspaper, Het Nieuwsblad, indicates that representatives from the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) and IOC (International Olympic Committee) are scheduled to meet next to discuss the feasibility of adding the sport.
Currently, the Olympic rules relative to the Winter Games, require that said sport must be played on either snow or ice. Therefore, according to IOC’s Peter Van Den Abeele, a change in rules might have to be made in order for cyclocross to qualify for inclusion. .
"If they decide to replace the rule "the sports must be practiced on snow and ice with "should be practiced only during the winter month", then there may be a chance."
If the IOC decides to include cyclocross, needless to say, it would influence national federations to invest heavily in the sport.
"Olympic Committees of all countries will suddenly be investing in cyclo-cross."
This is not the first time cyclocross has been considered for the Winter Games. In 2009 there was an initiative to do so. However, it was last month that new UCI President Brian Cookson really brought the idea to the forefront – by saying he thought that the Winter Games were missing out by not including the sport. To wit:
“I’m a fan of cyclo-cross, beer, fries and mayonnaise. Cyclo-cross as a discipline at the Winter Games is currently impossible because it is not practiced on snow or ice, but perhaps the IOC will one day revise rule. It’s currently missing something.”
http://capovelo.com/community/topic/2902-brian-cookson-wants-to-see-cyclocross-included-in-olympics-games/?hl=%2Bcyclocross+%2Bolympic+%2Bgames
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