Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

news

Olympic News: Phil Liggett says MTB and BMX shouldn't be in the Games, Cav recces Box Hill again

Commentator blasts rejig of track programme, teams take to Surrey roads ahead of tomorrow's big race...

Veteran cycling commentator Phil Liggett has risked the wrath of BMX and mountain biking fans by suggesting that those events should not be at the Olympics. Meawhile, last minute preparations are being made ahead of tomorrow's men's road race, with world champion Mark Cavendish and Tour de France champion Bradley WIggins among those out on training rides yesterday.

Speaking to the Australian newspaper the Herald Sun, Liggett criticised changes to the track programme introduced by the IOC and UCI that result in five events in the Velodrome for both men and women, with the individual pursuit one of those to be ditched: "It is absolutely disgraceful what they have done," he said. "They have devastated the track with the new events and taking out the iconic events of the Olympics," Liggett said.

"They have taken out the exciting and interesting events - the individual pursuit, the 1km time trial and the women's 500m time trial, and put in an omnium that no one will ever understand. There is only one rider from each country in the omnium and they are a jack of all trades and master of none."

"Nations and riders complained, but the UCI wanted equality. They got that but they also took out women's events. They introduced BMX. Great, but I am sure [Olympics founder] Pierre de Coubertin would have laughed his head off if he found out it was an Olympic discipline.

"It might be exciting but we are talking the Olympic Games. We have never had a good mountain biking event. Thousands will watch them but they are not Olympic gold medal events.

"They weren't meant to be in the Olympic Games."

Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins, together with the rest of Team GB, took to the Box Hill circuit yesterday for a training session there as the big race approaches. Other countries including Australia, Belgium and France were also out training on Surrey's roads yesterday.

There are more pictures accompanying this story on the Surrey County Council website, which also has links to useful information for those looking to attend this weekend's races.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

Add new comment

39 comments

Avatar
Ottadini | 11 years ago
0 likes

I really hope Phil sees just how popular MTB and BMX will be at the venues. The Olympics should constantly evolve, I personally think having DH MTB and 4X in the Summer games would logically be the flip side of alpine skiing in the Winter games. Maybe he would be happy if all competitors had to use 'big wheel' 29ers?

Avatar
Colin Peyresourde | 11 years ago
0 likes

Phil is an old man who is clearly frustrated. I think he has a Point about the track. I love watching the indoor track cycling and can't see why they have reduced the Olympic program. I would think that the UCI would want to celebrate it's variations as much as possible.

I like Mountain Biking, but given our lack of mountains, and don't mind the BMX, but for me BMX just seems like such a fringe sport which is ultimately pretty transitory (given the incidences of accidents) that it just seems that it lacks something to make it more mainstream. I see the arguements both ways, but X games does seem a better fit for it.

Avatar
scrapper | 11 years ago
0 likes

I agree with Phils distaste that some amazingly exciting track events have been sacrificed, although i love the BMX and MTB events but never mind all that everyone, how about considering that somehow Golf has made its way onto the 2016 Olympic schedule !

Avatar
andyp | 11 years ago
0 likes

'Maybe i'm wrong here but to me bmx is a miny version of mtb ?'

in a way, I can see your point. But it's a *watchable* mini version of mtb. I love mountain biking, but it ain't a spectator sport...

Avatar
Exustrek | 11 years ago
0 likes

Gotta agree that Liggett lost the plot some time ago and while it's true the track side of the things have been buggered up, his comments seem short sighted. BMX feeds riders through into track sprinting as they get older (Hoy, Staff etc.) and MTB produces some fine roadies. Wonder what Clancy and Trott thinks of his comments on the omnium..."jack of all trades master of none".. ouch!  13

Avatar
Stumps | 11 years ago
0 likes

Na, keep rowing and sailing in they are the only other events where we win medals.

The track athletes cant even be arsed to come to their home games opening ceremony, to busy lying in the sun in Portugal.

According to the althletics boss on Sky sports today "we cant have them standing for 4 hours so close to the competition, they are better off in Portugal where its warm".

Bin the bloody lot of them.

Avatar
mingmong | 11 years ago
0 likes

Take sailing and rowing out before the track events.

MTB should be in. BMX should be in. Anything on two wheels should be in!

Phil L is an institution... (or should be in one  19 )

Avatar
Stumps | 11 years ago
0 likes

PS Liggett is a bufoon  4

Avatar
Stumps | 11 years ago
0 likes

Maybe i'm wrong here but to me bmx is a miny version of mtb ?

smaller bikes on a smaller dirt track with a few jumps, bumps and corners. I dont mean it cant be an Olympic sport though as for goodness sake we have synchronized swimming - to me that should not be allowed full stop never mind an Olympic sport.

Avatar
OldRidgeback | 11 years ago
0 likes

Can't say I have an opinion on MTB racing in the Olympics, but I think BMX certainly has its place and it beats me why cyclocross isn't in already too. Cycle polo may well merit a place as well in time to come.

I frequently hear patronising comments about BMX and small wheels from road riders when I'm practising. I often ask them if they want a shot and when they take me up on it they generally make it halfway round the track before realising it's a whole lot more demanding than they'd appreciated. Throw in seven other riders and fierce cornering technique and you have an Olympic sport that's up there with boxing and fencing in terms of channelled aggression.

Avatar
Edgeley | 11 years ago
0 likes

The BMX and MTB events take place in a different place, with different people, to the track events. The dimunition in track races isn't caused by the existence of BMX and MTB.

Avatar
andyp | 11 years ago
0 likes

Surely if anything needs to be cut its the incessant swimming?! People winning 7/8 golds in a single games is a joke. I'm sure Hoy would have got 7 had they introduced lots more 'almost exactly the same as the last event but just a tiny bit different' races like in the pool. Kilo, kilo whilst on the blue line, kilo the other way round the track...

Avatar
Tripod16 | 11 years ago
0 likes

BMX and mountain biking have the X Games, that is where they belong.

Avatar
Carvers replied to Tripod16 | 11 years ago
0 likes
Tripod16 wrote:

BMX and mountain biking have the X Games, that is where they belong.

Don't think any MTB discupline is, or ever has been, in the XGames?

Avatar
BigDummy | 11 years ago
0 likes

Dirt Mag is dissing the Olympic mountain-biking for being rubbish. I'm not very convinced many mountain-bikers care much whether it's in or out. I could certainly do without it.

Avatar
Carvers | 11 years ago
0 likes

Pretty shortsighted comment in general. And agree with some of the ITV4 commentary.

He would have been better placed to say that he thinks the ommitted track events should have been kept in at the expense of some of the other olympic disciplines rather than focussing on other cycling events that he seems to have issue with.

IMHO darts could easily be argued to be included as a discpline given that shooting or archery are already included. But obviously I'd never actually want that!!

Ideally I'd make way for MTB (XC and DH), BMX (racing, dirt or flatland)- and CX for that matter - as olympic disciplines over some of the other "sports" that are currently included as events

Avatar
Swirly | 11 years ago
0 likes

While the individual pursuit was "the" track event the most watchable has to be the devil which is only in as part of the omnium.

Avatar
OldRidgeback | 11 years ago
0 likes

Chris Hoy made his competitive debut in BMX too

Avatar
Some Fella | 11 years ago
0 likes

It has to be said though that many ex-MTBers and BMXers do go over to the road/track and rarely the other way round and that, to me, says something about the status of the respective disciplines.
BMX is grown ups on children's bikes and Mountain biking is grown ups acting like children.
Road cycling is for real grown ups.

Avatar
londonbrick replied to Some Fella | 11 years ago
0 likes
Some Fella wrote:

BMX is grown ups on children's bikes and Mountain biking is grown ups acting like children.
Road cycling is for real grown ups.

Sounds familiar, last time I have heard this sort of wisdom was in early 90's. From people who couldn't stand the popularity of mountain bikes.It is as ludicrous as Ligget's comments.Poor old man.

Avatar
Simon E replied to Some Fella | 11 years ago
0 likes
Some Fella wrote:

BMX is grown ups on children's bikes and Mountain biking is grown ups acting like children.
Road cycling is for real grown ups.

Ha ha, like it!

Liggett, an old-skool roadie and CTC stalwart, and has his opinion. Doesn't make it right or wrong, and I'm not sure whether there is a right or wrong. Wasn't BMX brought in to appeal to kids? Or perhaps it was that a brief, mult-rider event with a good prospect of some colour and drama was more TV-friendly than almost robotic looking IP pairs circulating on the boards 16 times.

It all depends on what the IOC/UCI et al want us to see. Dropping the IP is criminal in my opinion but I understand the 'all-rounder' appeal of the Omnium where most are specialists, like the Decathlon and Heptathlon, or even Triathlon. Try telling Daley Thompson or Kelly Sotherton it's irrelevant.

Olympic success is obviously a huge thing to achieve but in my view it's a tad irrelevant, certainly for XC and road nowadays. Just one chance of winning every four years, a lot can change in that time for any athlete. The road race is a comparable event to the Worlds except you don't get to wear that jersey for 12 months and if the course doesn't suit your strengths then tough luck.

If we're discussing which ones are 'Olympic quality' branches of the sport then shouldn't Cyclo-Cross get a mention? Or bicycle polo? TBH I'll be glad when it's all over, though of course happier still if British riders net a decent medal haul.

Avatar
Shanghaied replied to Simon E | 11 years ago
0 likes
Simon E wrote:

If we're discussing which ones are 'Olympic quality' branches of the sport then shouldn't Cyclo-Cross get a mention? Or bicycle polo?

Don't think we'll see CX or bike polo in the Olympics any time soon, basically the olympic charter says that to be included in the games the sport has to be widely practised on all five continents (or have a governing body that can throw tons of money and political pressure at the IOC, a la keirin), and both CX and bike polo are pretty much only a Western Europe and N. America thing. Bike polo was very niche until only very recently (correct me if I'm wrong) and doesn't even have an international governing body that the IOC recognises.

Some unpopular sports are just grandfathered in, like gymnastics, weightlifting and wrestling, since they are considered classic and quintessential to the games, whereas others are genuinely puzzling - I mean does anyone actually know someone who does diving or synchronised swimming as hobby? If anything, rugby should be reintroduced as an olympic sport, judging by how well the world cup does every time.

Avatar
Simon E replied to Shanghaied | 11 years ago
0 likes
Shanghaied wrote:

Don't think we'll see CX or bike polo in the Olympics any time soon, basically the olympic charter says that to be included in the games the sport has to be widely practised on all five continents

Sorry, it was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek remark.

Quote:

does anyone actually know someone who does diving or synchronised swimming as hobby?

No, my friends aren't that interesting, most of them like cycling, oddly enough.

Triathlon could be considered a 'jack of all trades' combination of quite different endurance sports made worse by doing them all in one go! Respect to anyone who can train and race all 3.

Avatar
Pierre replied to Some Fella | 11 years ago
0 likes
Some Fella wrote:

It has to be said though that many ex-MTBers and BMXers do go over to the road/track and rarely the other way round and that, to me, says something about the status of the respective disciplines.
BMX is grown ups on children's bikes and Mountain biking is grown ups acting like children.
Road cycling is for real grown ups.

Shanaze Reade and Liam Phillips are excellent track cyclists, Liam Killeen has trained and raced on road, Annie Last has raced cyclocross... I don't think you have a point.

Avatar
GrimpeurChris | 11 years ago
0 likes

The real point here is that the Track schedule is curtailed to make way for BMX & MTB in some way! How? Why cant the track events go beyond 1 week? Its not as if they have to make room in the velodrome for something else? Just smacks of UCI dictatorship ... managing to rig the "games" to suit their purpose which seems to dilute the domination of cycling events by one country (if they can!)!! If there had been a longer track schedule then maybe more of us would have got tickets!
Watching the games on TV cos can't get tickets & won't pay for something that was going to be free on principle!
Com'on Cav!

Avatar
STATO replied to GrimpeurChris | 11 years ago
0 likes
GrimpeurChris wrote:

The real point here is that the Track schedule is curtailed to make way for BMX & MTB in some way! How? Why cant the track events go beyond 1 week? Its not as if they have to make room in the velodrome for something else?

I seem to recall it was nothing to do with dates/schedules and more to do with number of events, you cant just add events to the olympics, for every one that is added one must be dropped within that discipline. So add mens/womens BMX and MTB forces 4 track events out. Same when they had to drop mens events to add in more womens events so it was an even distribution.

Avatar
TheHatter replied to STATO | 11 years ago
0 likes
STATO wrote:
GrimpeurChris wrote:

The real point here is that the Track schedule is curtailed to make way for BMX & MTB in some way! How? Why cant the track events go beyond 1 week? Its not as if they have to make room in the velodrome for something else?

I seem to recall it was nothing to do with dates/schedules and more to do with number of events, you cant just add events to the olympics, for every one that is added one must be dropped within that discipline. So add mens/womens BMX and MTB forces 4 track events out. Same when they had to drop mens events to add in more womens events so it was an even distribution.

but why can't you have more medals when there are now more sports?
its ridiculous that an entire stadium is built and could have sold out many times over has its programme cut.

Avatar
Bagpuss | 11 years ago
0 likes

He probably wants Olympic etching and poetry to be reintroduced.

Wasn't the test MTB race really well received by riders and spectators and maybe this time the course, although not mountainous by any stretch of the imagination will help provide a much better MTB race?

Avatar
thereandbackagain | 11 years ago
0 likes

"...They introduced BMX. Great, but I am sure [Olympics founder] Pierre de Coubertin would have laughed his head off if he found out it was an Olympic discipline."

He seems rather ill-informed about how broad the scope of the Olympics has been since its founding in 1890. Painting was a medal event in the 1920's.

http://www.h2g2.com/approved_entry/A87734505

I'm not making a judgement about what should be in and what should be out, perhaps Ligget should've thought a bit before flapping his gums as well. It's an event synthesised out of the cultural whims of its age, that's one of the reasons the content changes.

Avatar
edwardbmason | 11 years ago
0 likes

As a mtber primarily, this really annoys me. Look at how many top class road racers have come out of mtb. Hesjdal, Evans, Sagan, Kessiakoff to name a few. I dont know why road development teams don't look at mtbers more often (or maybe they do, I'm not sure!). Anyway, the point is that mtb (and bmx)are massive part of cycling and Phil is still living in a time where he thinks mtbers are hippies in Cali on klunkers, and not some of the most well rounded athletes in cycling. Can't be long before he retires, every year David Harmons commentary makes his stuff look worse and worse.

Pages

Latest Comments