stop being so narrow minded.(Apologies if posted on here before)

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/london-olympics/renowned-cycling-commentator-phil-liggett-says-bmx-and-mountain-biking-should-not-be-olympic-sports/story-fn9dheyx-1226434989835

I’m not sure he puts forward any logical argument as to why BMX and MTB shouldn’t be included. To say that the Olympics isn’t the “pinnacle of the sport” could also be said about road racing (as well as football, tennis etc).

“I am sure (Olympics founder) Pierre de Coubertin would have laughed his head off if he found out it was an Olympic discipline.”

Ok so a forward thinking man of his time who created the biggest sporting event in the world would not be open to modern and new sports? Ha ha phil, yes nice one

From the man who says “he’s an ex mountain biker he will pull away down the descent” 345 times during the tour

Reads a lot like he does much like, watch, understand, have any knowledge of or enjoy mtb, therefore it should be removed. V much agree with OP.

He’s wrong about BMX/MTB but right to be bitter about the decimation of the track cycling Olympic programme. I can’t believe the amount of events swimming has yet they couldn’t just add women’s events to the track they had to screw it up just to keep the medal total neutral. No individual pursuit is like no 100m in athletics

Not sure I agree that mtb and bmx should not be there but I do find it weird that track events had to go to make space for them. Why could there not have been both, why did they shelve the track events to make way for them? They spent all that money on the velodrome and there will only be 10 golds medals handed out in there – on the other hand there will be 32 golds handed out in the swimming pool (plus the diving and synco swimming). No pool events were ditched to make way for the open water 10km marathon swims. I don’t think it would have been unreasonable to keep both the track events and the BMX/mtb.

edit – FW beat me to it.

THE world voice of cycling Phil Liggett

the opening sentence nearly forced me to stop reading tbh

Track cycling has been shafted and it is a bad thing IMHO but he is a luddite re other froms of cycling

the road race is hardly the pinnacle of a road is it never mind mention of tennis or football.

but I do find it weird that track events had to go to make space for them

Did they though? Beijing had BMX, MTB and the full suite of track events.

Yeah shafting of Track cycling is sad.

Mindyou

Australia…..just one silver medal in Beijing to the UK’S seven golds.

Still makes me chuckle, though I suspect it wont be so one sided this time round

I think he’s gone a bit Murray Walker and isn’t the best commentator. Tends to be very repetitive and often drops a bollock.

BMX in the Olympics has always seemed a bit weird to me.
I guess it bridges the gap between X Games and more ‘normal’ sports.

The Olympics should be the pinnacle event for a sport. I would question why football, tennis and basketball are in there first as for these the Olympics is just a side show. Not entirely sure why the track event had to be cut just so mountain biking and BMX could be kept in. They are completely different sports in different venues

BMX has it’s place. They train as hard as any track rider. In fact a few of the track riders were bmxers before.

It’s good to see the Olympics evolve…….

Best thing about that link was that it further linked to vids of Michelle Jenneke…

If anything some of the traditional events should be replaced with more X-games type events to make the Olympics more relevant to today and the youth that are going to be competing in future Olympics.

Road and mtb cycling are good things to promote as kids that compete or are inspired to partake in that sport by the Olympics are very likely to maintain that activity into later life, with the subsequent health benefits.

Roll on putting parkour in the Olympics…

Agree – Why not – modern gymnastics.

Not sure I agree that mtb and bmx should not be there but I do find it weird that track events had to go to make space for them.

Eh! When?

MTB has been an olympic sport since 1996. BMX was only introduced in 2008, but it didn’t reduce the number of track events as a result.

These changes to the track events have come as a complete lack of understanding of what the core/interesting events are to the general public I think. Phil Liggett (I expect having been taken out of context somewhat by the press) will know this, and to state MTB and BMX shouldn’t be in the Olympics is a bit stupid IMO. The 4KM and 1KM pursuits were kinda the equivalent to the 400m and 100m running races in most peoples eyes, so that they have gone is a big loss. The Omnium I, like I suspect most people do, find too confusing to be particularly interesting a spectator sport, so personally think that should not be there and at least one of the individual pursuits reinstated. But obviously that won’t happen until at least 2016, and only then if we’re lucky.

And when it comes to fairness, you have to remember that the Velodrome and Road events have how many British Cyclists representing their country? There’s 5 in the Road Race alone, then the Road TT, then lots of track events. I’m guessing 16-20 in total, if not more. Then you’ve got Liam Killeen, and Annie Last representing GB at Mountain Biking, that’s it! Doesn’t seem all that fair to me…

The Olympics should be the pinnacle event for a sport. I would question why football, tennis and basketball

I’ll agree on Football and Tennis, they’ve each got their own relevant showcases that are to their fans, much more important than the Olympics. Basketball though is very relevant in the Olympics, doesn’t really have much of a forum outside of the NBA for proper competition, certainly not internationally. It’s also nice to see once in a blue moon, tha Yanks actually get beaten by a load of scrawny European white boys! 😉

Now that sport is professional are there many events where the Olympics are the pinnacle of the sport?

Athletics – winning all events in the Diamond League could arguable be a better achievement than an olympic gold.

Football – World Cup,
Cycling – World Championships of any flavour,
Boxing – Pro Circuit,
etc etc etc.

We have never had a good mountain biking event.

Come on, its only the 5th time this time round! And Beijing was brilliant. Good techy course, well filmed that made me want to go and ride there.

One of the reason’s BMX and MTB should be in, at the expense of track cycling, is its a real-world sport. Someone could watch it, go to Halfords, buy a bike of some sort and go MTBing or BMX(ing?) the next day. Yes you could go and buy a track bike too, but where are you going to ride it, other than like a ponce around town?

(unless you live near one of the velodromes dotted around the counrty admitidly, but then you’ve got to pay to ride, which isn’t going to get people into the sport)

Eh! When?

MTB has been an olympic sport since 1996. BMX was only introduced in 2008, but it didn’t reduce the number of track events as a result.

I’ll have to back to my almanac of geekness but there is a corrolation. Didn’t 2008 see the kilo dropped for BMX.

Yeah, its not really mountain biking and BMX that have squeezed out track cycling but it is a shame that there is a much reduced track program, it has provided some great olympic moments.
Phil should wind his neck in on this.

Phil Ligget is an anachronism.

He was acceptable when pro cycling was a few hours of Tour highlights, but modern cycling coverage and the internet has produced a rather more intelligent and learned audience.

He’s also tucked up in bed with Armstrong, which may prove difficult for him in the future.

Retirement beckons.

Retirement beckons.

For him and Hugh Porter. I suspect that after this Olympics when Chris Boardman steps down from his role at British Cycling/Team GB, he’ll take Hugh Porter’s role in track commentary and someone like Rob Hayles will move up to fill the vacancy. Not sure who there is really to step into Phil Liggett’s shoes – him and Paul Sherwen are a good double act and Paul can mostly correct Phil’s increasingly numerous cock-ups.

Phil’s been doing the Tour now for FORTY years!

Not sure who there is really to step into Phil Liggett’s shoes

Claire (f-ing) Balding 🙂

at least syncro swimming is in, that’s a sport n half that is!

There’ll be some in the Olympic road race who would suffer in a fish and chipper. So WC is the pinnacle.

him and Paul Sherwen are a good double act and Paul can mostly correct Phil’s increasingly numerous cock-ups.

you must be kidding, they both make lots of mistakes and the sherwenisms are getting beyond the pale

There are tons of journalists and budding presenters out there, the idea that there are no better options than fil and paul for longevity reasons is the same kind of change resistant rubbish that leaves us with bleedin bruce forsyth

If you read Ned Boulting’s book you’ll realise that Phil & Paul are here to stay. They are employed by US TV. ITV just buys the feed.

Shame really as they are awful.

“As an ex-MTBer he’s great at going downhill”

Could cyclists not ride downhill before MTBs were invented?

That would be the same Coubertin that had tug o’ war and other odd races/events in his olympic games. Does Phil know any olympic history?

In what way is tug o’ war any odder or more contrived than many modern sporting events?

from his twitter earlier:

I have nothing at all against MTB or BMX, so please don’t misinterpret what I said

I don’t understand why there are so many swimming events. Surely if you are racing over a distance you use the fastest stroke possible.

I think Phil said during the TDF coverage that he could retire if a Brit won the tour. Et Voila!

He also claimed that Wiggins’ victory in the TdF would be the biggest thing in UK sport since “Britain’s victory at the soccer world cup of 1966”. I’ve only ever used one smiley but 😯

I don’t understand why there are so many swimming events. Surely if you are racing over a distance you use the fastest stroke possible.

+1

How can you possibly justify deliberately using a technique that is slower than the optimum? Will Usain Bolt be lining up for the 100m backwards race? As for butterfly that has as much a place in the Olympics as the three legged race.

Sack race, wheelbarrow race and egg-and-spoon 100m would be pretty awesome though.

Having done a sack race last weekend, it did feel a bit like swimming butterfly.

Explain to me how an Olympic Gold isn’t the pinnacle of XC or BMX?

Yes its crap they have cut the track events but whats that got to do with the other events?

How can you possibly justify deliberately using a technique that is slower than the optimum? Will Usain Bolt be lining up for the 100m backwards race? As for butterfly that has as much a place in the Olympics as the three legged race.

http://www.london2012.com/venue/racewalk/

You were saying?

Its the UCI innit. What a bunch of cretins.

They will be the reason they had to drop events to occomdate others while swimming is able to get the open water stuff in without dropping anything. Because they are utterly incompetent.

As for the omnium. Isn’t it just the hept/decathlon of cycling?

Bring back poetry reading as an Olympic sport, that’s what I say.