UCI
Press Release -- 07/01/2003
The IOC Executive Committee decided on 29th June 2003, during their
meeting in Prague, to include BMX (Bicycle Motocross) in the XXIX
Olympics in Beijing, will be held from 8 to 24 August 2008.
IOC President Rogge was pleased to inform UCI President Verbruggen
about this decision. President Rogge further stated, "We believe
that this introduction will definitely enhance the Olympic program".
One Elite Men (19 Years and older) and one Elite Women (19 Years and older)
event will be included in the Olympic program.
The UCI BMX World Ranking will determine the nations ranking and the number
of athletes for each country, although the total number of BMX athletes has not
yet been decided.
CC - Official UCI Press Release -- 07/01/2003
http://www.uci.ch/modello2.asp?1stlevelid=C&level1=5&level2=7&idnews=1309
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PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) --
07/01/2003
Bike Moto Cross, otherwise known as BMX cycling,
will be added to the program for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
One women's and one men's BMX race will replace two track cycling
events, yet to be determined, in a bid to attract younger audiences.
IOC president Jacques Rogge called it a ''new, spectacular event.''
''We believe that this introduction will definitely
enhance the Olympic program,'' he said.
The two new races won't increase the number
of events or athletes in Beijing, Rogge said.
Rogge said the International Cycling Union was studying which two
events in the current program were the least popular and would be
replaced by BMX.
Racing on small stunt bikes, four BMX riders start together and
negotiate a jumps-and-bumps obstacle course, built on dirt in
the center of the velodrome track.
An elimination process will see the fastest in each heat advancing to
the next round. The heats are expected to take less than a minute each.
The introduction of BMX is an attempt to attract the interest
of a younger generation, much like the addition of snowboarding
in 1998 and freestyle skiing in the early '90s.
Two sports, triathlon and taekwondo, were added for the
Sydney Olympics in 2000, but there is increasing pressure
to cut rather than add sports.
Since his election as IOC president in 2001, Rogge has been
pushing to contain spending and ''gigantism'' in the Olympics.
CC - PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) Associated Press -- 07/01/2003
BMX to replace two cycling events in 2008 Olympics
& ACC -
*** BMX to replace two cycling events in 2008 Olympics ***
06/30/2003
IOC decides to add two more cycling events for Beijing Olympics
http://en.beijing-2008.org/46/46/article211614646.shtml
06/30/2003