The revamp to the Olympic Track cycling programme - first revealed by the Daily Telegraph in September - has been completed with a UCI announcement confirming the exact format of the new Omnium event.
The one surprise is the addition of a sixth component to an event which is being promoted as cycling’s equivalent of the decathlon, designed to find the best all-round cyclist in the world. The omnium, which will be contested by 24 riders, will now finish with an elimination race normally known as a 'Devil take the hindmost'
A bunch race, the last rider over the line every two laps is eliminated until you have a winner. Popular at club level it has the potential to provide excellent TV and in the organisers wildest dreams, of course, the overall medal contenders would all be involved in the final shake-up.
The other important announcement from the UCI is that the other races within the Omnium will all be contested at their regular distance which should deflect any accusations that they will be a water down version of the real thing. In the Pursuit the distance will be the full 4km for men, 3km for women, in the Points race it will be 30km for men and 20km for women, and in the Sctatch 15km for men, 15km for women.
The Men will also contest the classic Ikm time-trial (Kilo) and the women a 500m time-trial. The only event that differs from the "norm" is that the sprint will comprise simply of a timed flying lap (normally 250m) and will not progress to seeded knock out rounds.
The effect of all of the above should be to accentuate the difference in class and levels of performance and bring the balance back towards the endurance riders after the UCI faced criticism that it leant to heavily towards the speed merchants. Over a full 4km Purusit distance the endurance athlete should be able to strike hard and a 30km Points race should also be in their favour.
The new format for the Omnium will be introduced with immediate effect at this season’s World Championship which will be held in Copenhagen in March.
Format of the Omnium at London 2012 Olympics
Flying lap (250-metre time trial)
Points race (30km for men, 20km for women)
Individual pursuit (4km for men, 3km for women)
Scratch race (15km for men, 10km for women)
Kilometre time trial (500m for women)
Elimination race
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The Source - Telegraph.
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