Is Cyclo-Cross Ready for the Olympic Stage?
Luc Arseneau, ChPC
January 2025
I must admit, I’m excited and torn when it comes to the idea of cyclo-cross becoming an Olympic sport. I love the discipline. I’ve poured time and energy into its development, even helping to organize a very successful National Championship years ago. I eagerly follow the action, especially during the festive Christmas cross schedule.
Cyclo-cross has undeniable appeal. It draws massive crowds and boasts some of the most passionate fans in cycling. The format is ideal for modern sports consumption: short, high-intensity races; accessible courses that bring the action up close; technical challenges that showcase rider skill; and a festive, party-like atmosphere. It’s a spectacle that’s well-suited to both local events and broadcast television.
But is that enough to justify inclusion in the Olympics? For me, the answer is a bit complicated, because the sport has some structural barriers that make its case a bit challenging.
Lack of International Representation
One of the sport’s biggest challenges is the glaring lack of international representation at the highest level. While nations, like Canada, are making strides to field riders, and we’ve seen inspiring recent performances this winter from athletes like Spain’s Felipe Orts Lloret, the reality is stark: Belgium and the Netherlands dominate every aspect of the sport.
​Consider this: 8 of the 11 UCI World Cups this year were hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands, and Belgium alone accounted for 15 of 26 C1 events. These two countries have also monopolized the top rankings for years. For many nations, cyclo-cross remains a niche discipline with limited resources and development pathways. This imbalance, at the moment, makes it difficult to present cyclo-cross as a truly global sport, a critical requirement for Olympic inclusion (event I I know and fully admit the rules have been overlooked regularly by the IOC).
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Lack of Competitive Depth
The dominance of a few nations inevitably leads to another issue: a lack of depth in the competition. When you have riders like Mathieu van der Poel or Wout van Aert showing up and utterly dismantling the field, it highlights some gaps in skill and resources between the top riders and the rest. While these athletes are undeniably exceptional and a testament to the sport’s potential, their dominance raises concerns about how inclusive and competitive cyclo-cross really is.
Even the UCI has recognized this imbalance, attempting to introduce rule changes in recent years to level the playing field—but without much success. The disparity remains, and I would hope an Olympics nomination would solve this problem. One thing I would not hope for is those big stars showing up every four years to claim medals, leaving other riders in the shadows (but we're also noticing this in another cycling discipline, right?).
Funding and Resource Challenges
Another hurdle is the financial reality of adding cyclo-cross to the Olympic program. Cycling is too often seen as a single sport, but it’s really a collection of distinct disciplines, each with its own demands. In many countries, these disciplines are all competing for the same limited pool of resources.
Take Canada, for example. Even if cyclo-cross was added to the Olympics, I would hope it would result in new funding. Or would it simply force existing resources to be stretched even thinner? Historically, we’ve seen that Olympic inclusion doesn’t always translate to more money for developing nations, but in Canada, historically, we seem to like new Olympic events.
What’s at Stake
Cyclo-cross becoming an Olympic sport might inspire some nations to invest more in development and creating proper pathways, that would be the only way to lead to a more balanced field.
Cyclo-cross is also unique in its grassroots charm. Its local appeal, its party-like atmosphere, and its intimate connection with fans are what make it special. Would the Olympics change that? Would the push for global exposure dilute the authenticity of the sport, or would it make it greater?
My Love for the Sport
Despite these questions, my love for cyclo-cross remains unwavering. I’ll keep waking up early on Sunday mornings with a coffee in hand, watching riders battle through mud, sand, and snow. I’ll continue supporting its development at the local level, where real change begins.
Regardless of its inclusion into the Games or not, let's all hope for the best for cyclo-cross. Let's see it thrive globally. The sport needs to put extra efforts in solving its foundational challenges—international representation, competitive depth, and resource allocation—to jump onto the Olympic stage in the best way possible. Otherwise, we risk losing what makes cyclo-cross so special in the first place.