It’s been almost a year since the 2022 Winter Olympics took place in Beijing. So it seems like a fine time to revisit an argument that seems to have been around longer than Davide Rebellin’s career. Should cyclocross be in the Olympics?
The conversation restarted in December, when the UCI Cyclocross World Cup organizers visited Val di Sole, Trentino. The venue, a ski resort, hosted mountain bike world championships in 2021 and has been the site of many World Cups. This past December was the first time ‘cross visited, and since it was winter, the races were on snow. There’s no debating whether or not the competitions were great: they were. And it’s not the first nor the last time ‘cross will be run on snow.
Van Aert wins his first World Cup of the season on tricky Val di Sole snow course
Former world champion Sven Nys has been very vocal about the prospect of ‘cross making its debut in the Winter Olympics. “If our sport becomes an Olympic sport, the sky’s the limit,” he said. “Then all the federations will wake up and put money into cyclocross again. Now that’s only in Belgium and the Netherlands.”
Thankfully at the Val di Sole race, there was plenty of snow, as the organizers were insistent that the races be run on the white stuff as a showcase for a possible Olympic bid. In fact, they were so intent on having snow, they even said they would have used the snow cannon if necessary.
The UCI tried to pitch the idea to the International Olympic Committee in 2014, but it didn’t exactly go so well. But we can get to that later. Even if the latest attempt were successful, the 2030 Olympics would be the earliest ‘cross would be there.
Although it would definitely be cool to imagine Marianne Vos, Maghalie Rochette and Wout van Aert racing in Beijing next week, it simply isn’t feasible, and will most likely never happen. Here’s why.
1. Olympic rules
As a rule, all Olympic Winter Games sports must take place on snow or ice. At the time, conditions in Val di Sole made it an opportune venue. Situated just below the Vermiglio Cross Country Ski Centre at 1,271 m above sea level, deep early-season snow was on the track.
The late Gian Franco Kasper, who was president of the International Ski Federation and served on the IOC, thought the idea of adding CX to the winter Olympics was ludicrous. It’s safe to say the idea was not exactly popular with some members of the winter sports world.
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