Mixed team events on road or track could be among possible innovations in the cycling programme at the Olympic Games after 2020, Brian Cookson has told the Guardian. The UCI president cited the road time trial, the team sprint and the Madison as offering opportunities for men and women to compete together.
The intriguing possibility has arisen in the wake of reforms proposed by Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee. One recommendation adopted at the recent IOC meeting in Monte Carlo was that the Olympics should raise female participation to 50% and encourage mixed gender team events.
Cycling brought in gender parity from the London Olympics in medal numbers, although athlete numbers vary because the road races currently have different team sizes for the men’s and women’s events, something that Cookson has said can be looked at in future.
Cookson said his immediate priority is to conserve cycling’s present programme but added that he wants organisers to keep an open mind about events that may help cycling become more gender-equal. “In terms of mixed events, there is no history of that in the sport, but we need to look at it and see if it’s possible – perhaps it can be a way of bringing back some track events. If that is something the IOC feels would make cycling look attractive we need to look into that.
“You could have a relay road time trial, where a woman does one lap of the course and a man does one, or you could have a mixed team sprint with two men and two women, or a mixed gender Madison,” said Cookson, adding that a mixed Madison – already a complex event to judge and referee – might present further difficulties such as deciding how long each team member could spend racing while the other rests.
Cookson repeated his call for organisers to consider test events in mixed disciplines and said: “We need to look at all possibilities for making the sport more attractive. Let’s not close our minds, let’s be open.”
Currently, the only cycling event that is mixed is the team relay at the UCI mountain biking championship, where teams of four have to consist of three men – elite, under-23 and junior – and one woman. The current world champions are France.
Cycling currently has 18 events on the Olympic programme spanning four disciplines: road, track, mountain bike and BMX. The most recently introduced events on the track for women are the team pursuit and omnium, both of which have been well received.
The Olympic and world pursuit champion Jo Rowsell told the Guardian recently that she felt the inception of the team pursuit had raised the standard of women’s endurance racing across the board. The keirin and team sprint are also relatively recent additions and have also proved successful.
Cookson said that the cycling programme for Rio will not change, and that the venues for track, BMX and mountain biking are all under construction but should be complete in time for test events. The process of consulting with national federations over the 2020 programme will begin soon, he added.
“We don’t want to lose medals or athlete places, but we are in a strong position thanks to the success of the cycling events at London 2012. A few years ago there was talk of cycling being thrown out but we are building from a position of strength.”
He conceded that track cycling involves an expensive purpose-built venue but countered that with the argument that other cycling events such as the road race and time trials are relatively cheap to stage.
“We can tell a good story about legacy and participation as well as showing images of popular events,” he said. “The legacy of London is that if you build a facility in the host city and manage it properly, people will want to use it.”
