Cyclocross could be added to the Winter Olympics by 2030 in France, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has predicted, alongside cross-country running and judo in a bid to keep the Games relevant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t the first time adding cyclocross<\/a> to the Winter Olympics has been suggested, with World Athletics and the UCI holding talks about its inclusion last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Coe is reported to be increasingly optimistic it will be added to the Games due to the support of the new International Olympic Committee (IOC) president, Kirsty Coventry, and UCI president, David Lappartient, according to the Guardian<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Coe, who is part of the IOC\u2019s \u201cfit for the future\u201d working group, says: \u201cI think there\u2019s a good chance it\u2019ll happen. And I think it\u2019s come at the right moment, because Kirsty is certainly prepared to think differently about the programme, and what could go out of the stadium, and that mix between winter and summer.\u201d<\/p>\n Following conversations with Lappartient, Coe says there was already a provisional plan to have the cyclocross and cross-country running on the same course in the French Alps.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to see cross-country back in for all sorts of reasons. Some are emotional. But it also gives Africa a proper presence in the winter Games, which, if we are being honest, it doesn\u2019t really have,\u201d Coe says.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd sharing the same course in 2030 with cyclocross is really where our thinking is going. We\u2019ve already had good conversations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n