Petition to make cyclo-cross an Olympic sport goes online

An international petition to make cyclo-cross a Winter Olympic sport has been started online.

Fed up of watching ice-dancing and curling, a guy called Mike (who could well be Canadian..) is urging people to sign his petition, even though he's not quite sure where he'll send it yet.

Cyclo-cross is big in the UK and becoming so in North America. And, as Mike argues, it's easy to put on. “Here (in Vancouver) they're helicoptering snow onto the ski runs, and to set up a decent cross course you need a big park and a lot of yellow police tape. That's all.

“Oh - and you don't have to look away in pity or shame when you watch a rider dismount and run over barriers. We have that going for us as well.

“Then think about Danish, Dutch, Belgian, French and Italian -- and American, Russian, Chinese and Australian fans standing elbow-to-elbow under the Olympic rings, beers and cowbells in hand, heckling in their native tongues...it's really the Olympic dream, isn't it?”

At the time of writing, 436 people had signed the petition, including Bath Hamon, who said: “Cyclocross is a sport with one of the fastest growing participant levels in North America and Japan, and a long tradition in Europe. It can be run in snow, ice or mud WITHOUT human engineering assistance. And it's a perfect combination of aerobic endurance, balance and risk factors that makes for one of the most spectator-friendly disciplines in cycling. It would be a perfect addition to the Winter Olympic Games.”

To sign the petition click here.