Cold war as winter sports oppose cyclocross at 2030 Olympics

The existing Winter Olympics sports have voiced their opposition to the possible addition of cyclocross to the programme for the 2030 Games in the French Alps. 

New IOC president Kirsty Coventry has pledged to overhaul the programme of the Winter Olympics, with a decision on any new disciplines for 2030 to be taken in February at the IOC session that precedes the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

Speaking to the Guardian in September, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe expressed confidence that cross-country running and cyclocross would be added to the Winter Olympics schedule in 2030. It has also been suggested that some indoor sports like judo could be moved from the Summer Olympics to the Winter Olympics.

In a statement on Wednesday, however, the Winter Olympic Federations – which represents the governing bodies of sports such as skiing, biathlon and bobsled – signalled its opposition to the inclusion of sports that do not specifically take place on snow or ice.

“The Winter Olympic Federations are firm in our belief that such an approach would dilute the brand, heritage, and identity that make the Olympic Winter Games unique — a celebration of sports practiced on snow and ice, with distinct culture, athletes, and fields of play,” read the statement, reported by the Associated Press. 

The body described the proposal to introduce cyclocross and cross-country running to the programme as “piecemeal.” International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation president Ivo Ferriani insisted that the IOC’s “innovation should focus on evolving existing winter sports to attract broader participation and audiences.”

The addition of events such as cyclocross, cross-country running and judo to the Winter Olympics programme would require changes to the Olympic charter, which states that “only those sports which are practised on snow or ice are considered as winter sports.”

In September, Coe confirmed that he had discussed the idea with UCI president David Lappartient and he was optimistic about a change to the Olympic charter. “It is, ostensibly, a winter sport, and cross-country would make more sense in the winter,” he said.

Earlier this year, L’Équipe reported that the local organising committee of the 2030 Winter Olympics was among those lobbying for the inclusion of cyclocross. La Planche des Belles Filles in the Vosges has been proposed as the potential venue for cyclocross in 2030. Coe indicated that cross-country running would take place at the same venue.