Cycling Chief Talks New Tokyo 2020 Events, Rio 2016 Concerns

(ATR) Brian Cookson raises the possibility of staging mixed cycling events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The International Cycling Union president, speaking at the Sport Industry Breakfast Club in London on Tuesday, said a test event would be held this weekend at the UCI's Swiss headquarters to trial combined men and women disciplines. He appeared on the panel with World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper.

The concept of having mixed events at the Olympics was part of IOC president Thomas Bach’s Agenda 2020 reforms. Cycling looks to be one of the keener sports to trial it.

Cookson said the event to be piloted would be a mixed-team sprint - but added that his first priority would be to protect the number of medals cycling has in the Games. A mixed-madison event may be trialled at another time.

"It’s something that we would be prepared to put on the table [for Tokyo], yes" he said. "But as I said before, we’re really concerned first of all to defend our current position and our current number of medals.

"I think we need to look at the whole programme overall and not be too defensive; let’s see. Rio is going to be what it is with a program we understand there, so we’ve got just over five years to think about changing the program. The teams and the national federations need that time to plan and develop riders for the different events.

He added: "So in the long term let’s just keep an open mind and see what works and what doesn’t work. If it’s a disaster and it doesn’t work, we can report back to the IOC and say ‘we tried this, it’s impractical’. But let’s see."

This weekend's behind-closed-doors event will feature U-23 riders from various member nations. No elite riders are involved. Cookson is hopeful that one of Bach’s colleagues will be able to attend.

"It was an idea of Thomas Bach’s, I spoke to him a couple of months ago in Bangkok at the ANOC meeting and this is something he raised then," Cookson said. "When the president of the IOC says he’s interested in something, we all take it seriously and have a look at it. Let’s see if we can make it work.

"The IOC are just up the road so I’m sure from the sports department they can just send someone down. There’s an open invitation to them."

Concerns for Rio 2016

Rather than think too much about Tokyo, Cookson and the UCI have to make their way through Rio first. It has not been a smooth ride sofar because of construction delays, particularly the development of a new velodrome in Barra.

Last month, the IOC coordination commission noted that the Rio 2016 preparations were in their most "intense phase" with the velodrome being one of the venues with an "aggressive deadline".

Cookson’s fears were allayed on a visit to Rio two weeks' ago.

"They are more advanced than I feared but I think there’s a lot of work still to do," he said. "They’ve got a lot of concrete to pour before next year. The program they showed me is for completion for the velodrome at the end of November with the test event in March. So that gives them a little bit of flexibility but not much.

"And what I said to them when I was there was ‘no time to lose. We can’t afford a major problem in construction or supply in materials etc.’," he added. "They have the people who build the track timber coming down in September to Rio and I guess that’s a pretty tight schedule to work to."

On a more dispiriting topic, Cookson took the time to respond to the news that Lance Armstrong will ride several stages of the Tour de France one day before the professional peloton this year. Former England footballer Geoff Thomas has organised the ride to raise money for a cancer charity, and this week it was revealed he had persuaded the disgraced Texan to join him.

However Cookson, who last week oversaw the publication of the Cycling Independent Reform Commission’s comprehensive investigation into doping practices in the sport, was unequivocal in what he made of Armstrong returning to the Tour de France scene.

"In my view, bringing Lance Armstrong in to ride in some or all of the routes of the Tour de France one day before the actual race, I can’t think of a better word than disrespectful. Inappropriate. I don’t think I can add anything to that," he said.

"It looks like perhaps Lance was persuaded into it, and if he was it looks like it’s not a good judgement and I think I’d ask him not to do it. I’ve never met Lance Armstrong or spoken to him on the telephone or email or anything else. I’m not unhappy with that situation but there’s a message that I can give out today."

Reported by Christian Radnedge in London

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