The prospects of adding cyclocross and cross-country running to the Olympic Winter Games in 2030 might be welcomed by some, but not by all.
Winter Olympic sport federations for skiing, skating, biathlon, curling, luge, bobsled and skeleton have pushed back on the idea of adding the two disciplines to the programme for the event set to be held in the French Alps from February 1-17, 2030.
"The Winter Olympic Federations are firm in our belief that such an approach would dilute the brand, heritage, and identity that make the Olympic Winter Games unique — a celebration of sports practiced on snow and ice, with distinct culture, athletes, and fields of play,” the sports federations said in a statement reported by The Associated Press.
Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry opened a review of the Winter Games programme when she began her role in June. Later that month, the possibility of cyclocross and cross-country running to become a Winter Olympics discipline arose after local authorities and businesses in the Planche des Belles Filles area, and released details of their plan to host 'cross races in the 2030 Games.
In October, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe told The Guardian he thought the chances were good for cross-country running and cyclocross being added to the programme, especially after a discussion with UCI President David Lappartient.
However, the International Biathlon Union's Max Cobb felt the decision on which sports are included in the Winter Olympics should only be made by those among the "snow and ice sports".
"If they were super popular sports, they would already be in the Summer Games, and they're not," he told The Associated Press.
The International Olympic Committee's Olympic Charter rules currently require Winter Games sports to be played on snow and ice. While cyclocross and cross-country running are sometimes raced on ice and snow, they are also raced on grass, trail and muddy park terrain during the autumn and early winter.
The Winter Olympics programme currently featured 116 medal events, while the Games in summer had 329 last year. Cyclocross and cross-country running were among four new disciplines suggested for the programme, some of which are indoor sports.
Some nations are already planning for the potential of cyclocross being part of the Winter Olympics programming, set to be held in Utah in 2034, with USA Cycling's Brendan Quirk telling Cyclingnews that he felt that the cycling discipline in Winter Games would be 'off the charts' in Salt Lake City.
"Based on conversations I have had, I would say it's a better than 50% chance [for cyclocross to debut] at the 2030 Games. It's a massive priority for Sebastian Coe and David Lappartient [UCI president]. I very much admire the UCI's tenacity to make this happen," Quirk told Cyclingnews.
