Cycling Update: Revised Olympic Rules Offend British Riders
The British cyclists have been reported to reveal their discomfort over the new rules which are in the pipe line and are expected to be implemented during the 2012 Olympics expected to be held in Great Britain. The English bicycle riders said that the new
rules were expected to put stiffer criteria before them, which they would be obliged to meet in order to assure their participation in the event. They further lamented that enforcing such rules could cause a major setback for the Beijing Olympic dominators
at the home fields.
The British cyclists gave some of their best performances at Beijing Olympics back in 2008, when they outdid their rivals by winning 7 track gold and 3 silver medals. They also ended up with 2 bronze. However, with new rules placed during the upcoming Olympic
event, each country would only be allowed to enter one competitor for its representation for the individual events. This means that many experienced and well performing British cyclists would be left with a marginalized chance to make an entry during the big
event.
Giving his remarks, the quadruple gold medallist during the last Olympic held at Beijing, Hoy told the media correspondents that the new rules seemed totally unjust and annoying, as they would force some of the greatest riders of the world to miss out the
event. He said that this was not only frustrating for the participants, but equally painful for the spectators around the world. The cyclist was of the view that sports federation of many countries would oppose these new rules and International Cycling Union
might have to step back on its offending decision.
Defending the decision of the International Cycling Union regarding the newly introduced rules for the Olympics 2012, its president Mr. Pat McQuaid said that the new rules were being introduced after much discussion and consultation with the sports boards
around the world. He was of the view that these improved rules would help developing and promoting the sport around the globe.
The president further said that the International Cycling Union would not like the concentration of the event in the hands of one single nation as it happened during the last Olympics. Instead, the new measures and standards would boost the morale of the
players from other countries and would make the event more interesting.
When asked about to share his views, Kenny, a British cyclist under training for the upcoming British Olympics going to be held in 2012, said that they all practiced under similar circumstances and under the supervision of the similar coach. In such a situation,
if they had to compete each other for participation into the Olympic events, that was totally a fair treat. He further said that the senior cyclists, instead of finding faults with the decision of the International Cycling Union, should work upon their games
and should try to prove their worth according to the new rules which are being perceived as fair among the riders from rest of the world.
During the practice sessions, Hoy, the former quadruple gold medallist said that owing to his illness he had been constantly unable to beat some of the other cyclists which were being trained with him. He congratulated Jason, the biggest rival to the former
gold medallist upon his success in the trainings. However, he lamented that he was still concerned with the way the whole selection criteria was conducted. He was of the view that by implementing the new rules, it was unlikely to figure out the true potential
for the representation of the country in the Olympics.
Kenny, the young British cyclist who was being trained with Hoy for the event expressed unhappiness over the way Hoy was perceiving the matter, perhaps in that context he had had a fight as well with the former gold medallist. However, the immediate authorities
intervened the matter on time. Kenny expressed his views by saying that had the International Cyclist Union continued with the old rules, among top 5 cyclist of the world; they could have ended up having 2 French and 2 British.
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