IOC drops individual pursuit
- By Charles Pelkey
- Published Dec. 10, 2009
- Updated Dec. 10, 2009 at 4:49 PM UTC
International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Jacques Rogge arrives at a press conference at the IOC headquarters on December 10, AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI
The International Olympic Committee approved a UCI recommendation to restructure track events at the 2012 Games in London, including the abandonment of individual pursuit events.
The changes were part of a plan to bring “gender equity” to track events at the Olympics, but resulted in the elimination of the individual pursuit for both men and women.
The changes will, however, increase the number of women cyclists at the Olympics from 35 in Beijing to 84 – 45 percent of track cyclists, versus 19 percent in Beijing – by introducing more track events for women. There will now be a total of five track cycling events for men and women. There were seven men’s events and three women’s events in Beijing.
Under the plan approved during an executive board meeting on Thursday, women will compete in sprint, team sprint, team keirin, team pursuit and new omnium events, while the individual pursuit, points race and Madison events will be dropped altogether.
IOC president Jacques Rogge defended the changes, underlining that they followed a UCI recommendation “to focus more on endurance events.”
The new Omnium event is already partt of the UCI’s world Championship program. It is cycling’s equivalent of the decathlon in athletics, with six competitions, including individual pursuit and a points race.
FILED UNDER: News / Track TAGS: individual pursuit / Olympics
Charles Pelkey
Charles Pelkey joined VeloNews in 1994 after serving as press secretary for former GOP Whip Alan K. Simpson in the U.S. Senate. Pelkey has worked as a journalist since 1985 and held a number of editorial positions at VeloNews including Senior Editor of VeloNews.com. Pelkey earned a JD from the University of Wyoming College of Law and lives in Laramie, Wyoming, with Diana, his wife of 25 years, and their two children, Philip and Annika, whose presence serves as a constant reminder of what really matters. Pelkey left VeloNews in July, 2011, but continues to be a regular contributor. Charles can now be found at liveupdateguy.com