Can Someone explain to me why CX isn't a Winter Olympic sport?

[biff47]

1. It's a winter sport
2. It's a cheap sport that anyone can do and has broad appeal--at least as broad as curling. Total transparency: I like curling. really. Any country in the world can have a team; all they need to practice are cx bikes, boards and mud.
3. It brings a completely new target market and its advertising dollars to the Olympics.
4. It gives the UCI a chance to showcase a "clean" cycling sport and re-invent itself.

Am I crazy?

 

[TERMINATOR]

1. It's a winter sport
2. It's a cheap sport that anyone can do and has broad appeal--at least as broad as curling. Total transparency: I like curling. really. Any country in the world can have a team; all they need to practice are cx bikes, boards and mud.
3. It brings a completely new target market and its advertising dollars to the Olympics.
4. It gives the UCI a chance to showcase a "clean" cycling sport and re-invent itself.

Am I crazy?

1.) It's not a winter sport. The Olympics classifies a winter sport as a sport that requires snow or ice to take place.
2.) Cyclocross does not have broad appeal. Please get a grip on reality.
3.) Yeah, so would a stripper competition. You are overestimating the marketing draw of cross.
4.) The IOC is the one who adds sports, not the UCI. And if you think for one minute cross is clean, you are kidding yourself. Most of the top guys in cross are major dope heads and everybody knows it.

Cyclocross will NEVER be an Olympic sport. Never.

 

[DirtyWorks]

1.) It's not a winter sport. The Olympics classifies a winter sport as a sport that requires snow or ice to take place.
2.) Cyclocross does not have broad appeal. Please get a grip on reality.
3.) Yeah, so would a stripper competition. You are overestimating the marketing draw of cross.
4.) The IOC is the one who adds sports, not the UCI. And if you think for one minute cross is clean, you are kidding yourself. Most of the top guys in cross are major dope heads and everybody knows it.

Cyclocross will NEVER be an Olympic sport. Never.

I agree it won't become a winter sport, but I will argue the top of the 'cross being filled with dopers. The primary reasons are the consistency of the top-10 and how the order changes in expected ways in the top-10 depending on the course.

I don't see where the budget for a program would come from for riders just outside the top-10.

 

[brianf7]

In Australia we have so many summer Triathlons that we should atract some Cross but no mater how hard we push people wont ride them We have MTB and winter road racing so we seem to have a full calender .
in other words no one will take part in them . Most people who race and work seem to drop out as we get into the long winter nights . So trying to get cross entries is hard if not imposible.

 

[avanti]

.........................
Cyclocross will NEVER be an Olympic sport. Never.

I would have said that about BMX not so long ago.

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

Yes but BMX is raced in summer.
CX is in winter, but not on snow or ice. So impossible to become an Olympic sport.

 

[NedBraden]

There is doping in competitive endeavor.

Cross is not cheap.

 

[TheDude]

Stripping as a winter olimpic sport, I'd like to see that - established dopping history of the sport and all.

Oh, back to X - yeah it would be cool - I guess they would have to mandate snow on the course - but even better would be if they could figure out a way to shoot from the bikes and transporm bi-athalon to tri-

 

[Deagol]

1.) It's not a winter sport. The Olympics classifies a winter sport as a sport that requires snow or ice to take place.
2.) Cyclocross does not have broad appeal. Please get a grip on reality.
3.) Yeah, so would a stripper competition. You are overestimating the marketing draw of cross.
4.) The IOC is the one who adds sports, not the UCI. And if you think for one minute cross is clean, you are kidding yourself. Most of the top guys in cross are major dope heads and everybody knows it.

Cyclocross will NEVER be an Olympic sport. Never.

I pretty much agree with this, except I don't know about doping compared to other types of cycling, no opinion there..

I say this as a former road and MTB racer who tried CX once. It didn't have any appeal to me. I don't see the "broad appeal" outside of cycling enthusiasts. Cross bikes don't work on snow deeper than a few inches, also.

It seems that the fact that it happens "in winter" is more a byproduct of the too-long cycling season and not a result of that time of year being condusive to cycling, per se.

The whole idea of Cyclo-cross seems a bit contrived to me and is something that would not happen in a normal ride, but only for competition.

For the record, I am not saying that curling is a better olympic "sport" than CX would be...

 

[Boeing]

Can someone please tell my why Pole Dancing is not a Summer Olympic sport?

 

[Afrank]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHZM78ReSnc

Yeah cyclocross is never raced on snow.

 

[Deagol]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHZM78ReSnc

Yeah cyclocross is never raced on snow.

I said a FEW INCHES, that wasn't more than a few inches of snow, it was a more like a dusting...

 

[mhcopa]

It came out of a time when people would race bikes from one town's steeple to another in the fastest line possible, meaning that they would have to dismount to cross streams, fences, etc. Same way the track and field steeplechase developed.

 

[OJ....]

No bicycle other than oh so trendy fat bikes work in more than few inches of snow. You do not need snow to race 'cross though...

CX is a marginal sport compared to BMX, so I don't think cross will ever be in the olympics.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

1.) It's not a winter sport. The Olympics classifies a winter sport as a sport that requires snow or ice to take place.
2.) Cyclocross does not have broad appeal. Please get a grip on reality.
3.) Yeah, so would a stripper competition. You are overestimating the marketing draw of cross.
4.) The IOC is the one who adds sports, not the UCI. And if you think for one minute cross is clean, you are kidding yourself. Most of the top guys in cross are major dope heads and everybody knows it.

Cyclocross will NEVER be an Olympic sport. Never.

Curling has broad appeal? Seriously, you are clueless. What about other Olympic "sports"? Diving? Synchronized swimming?

Cross has more appeal than a lot of other current Olympic "sports".

Doping? We saw curling players get busted. Your wires got crossed somewhere.

 

[El Pistolero]

Cyclocross being an Olympic sport(summer or winter, I wouldn't care, though it would be hard to have it in the summer because they're still building up for the coming cross season then) would broaden the appeal of the sport some what, so I hope it one day day becomes Olympic. 2-3 free medals for Belgium Although I'd be glad if the sport got more international even if it means Belgians dominating less.

 

[spalco]

2-3 free medals for Belgium Although I'd be glad if the sport got more international even if it means Belgians dominating less.

I think that's actually the biggest obstacle for cyclocross to become an Olympic sport, more than anything else mentioned in this thread - why would any country but Belgium, Czech Republic and maybe France and Netherlands push for it when their chances of ever winning a medal are negligible? There would be fewer contender nations than even in Rugby or Cricket.

It's also a very European sport, and the Winter Olympics are so Euro-centric already.

 

[El Pistolero]

I think that's actually the biggest obstacle for cyclocross to become an Olympic sport, more than anything else mentioned in this thread - why would any country but Belgium, Czech Republic and maybe France and Netherlands push for it when their chances of ever winning a medal are negligible? There would be fewer contender nations than even in Rugby or Cricket.

It's also a very European sport, and the Winter Olympics are so Euro-centric already.

Well, didn't GB do that with track cycling? I think it would actually lure countries to invest into cyclocross to get some "free medals" or at least increase their chances of one. It could actually benefit cyclocross.

 

[spalco]

It would be a huge boost for cyclocross no doubt. Any sport admitted into the Olympics instantly becomes desirable and lucrative. But in the short term it would still be dominated by the same people who dominate it now.

 

[Arnolfini]

On some courses you'd think the only thing the riders are lacking to be considered Olympic is a rifle.. or somebody crying out 'wrong lane!'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8xkNQRLGa0

 

[Afrank]

IOC and UCI to discuss inclusion of cyclocross in the winter Olympic games.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news...-inclusion-of-cyclocross-at-winter-games.html