Mountain biking has surged in popularity over the last decade, and it’s no surprise that many fans have been wondering if mountain biking will ever become an Olympic sport. After all, there are some countries where mountain biking is taken very seriously, with some of the world’s best mountain bikers coming from these places.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been evaluating a number of new sports for inclusion in the Olympics since 2013, and mountain biking was one of them. The IOC conducted several rounds of evaluation over the years and eventually decided to add BMX freestyle to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. While this was certainly a victory for mountain bikers, it wasn’t the official inclusion of mountain biking as an Olympic sport.
The IOC has yet to make a decision on whether or not mountain biking will become an official Olympic sport. To be included as an official sport in the Olympics, it needs to meet certain criteria such as having international recognition, being widely practiced around the world and having gender equality in terms of numbers competing. Mountain biking does meet these criteria but there are still some hurdles that need to be cleared before it can be officially included.
The first hurdle is getting enough countries to join a governing body for mountain biking. This body would need to be recognized by the IOC and have enough countries signed up in order for them to consider adding it as an Olympic sport. This could prove difficult due to some countries not wanting to join due to cultural or religious reasons.
Another hurdle is getting enough sponsors and media coverage for mountain biking competitions. Without sponsorships and media coverage, it would be difficult for organizers to create events that would draw enough attention from viewers around the world, which could make it difficult for the IOC to include mountain biking in their lineup.
Conclusion:
It remains uncertain whether or not Mountain Biking will become an official event at the Olympics. There are some hurdles that need to be cleared before this can happen such as getting enough countries on board with a governing body and enough sponsorships and media coverage for competitions. Only time will tell if Mountain Biking will make its way into the Olympics lineup but for now, fans will just have to wait and see what happens.
