Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert as Olympic Champions? Cyclocross could take part in winter Olympics as soon as 2030

The 2028 Olympic Games will be held in Los Angeles and provide a once in four years opportunity for the pro peloton to take an Olympic title. The same can be said of the professional mountain bikers and track racers, but not for the cyclocross specialists. This may be about to change, as the 2030 Winter Olympics may see the debut of the cycling discipline and provide the likes of Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert to close their career with an Olympic title.

The president of the world athletics governing body, Sebastien Coe, has said in words to The Guardian that there is heavy consideration for the discipline to become an Olympic sport in 2030 already.

Although, if this were to happen, it would most likely happen in combination with cross-country running, with the two sharing the same course most likely. "I already discussed it with David Lappartient. Sharing that course is a serious option we're considering. We've already had good discussions about that option." There is a potential obstacle in the fact that cross country running could also become an Olympic discipline but not in the winter Olympics, which could make cyclocross' bid more difficult. However, on paper it ticks all the boxes and is officially the sport's winter discipline already, with all of the main races taking place between October and February.

"There would have to be some changes to the framework, because the sports have to be practiced on snow or ice, which isn't exactly something they had an abundance of in France. But cyclocross and cross-country running are undeniably winter sports."

If this decision were to be taken, it would mean that the riders would take on this event in just over four years, in February 2030 in the French Alps and Nice area. At this point in time both Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert will be 35 years old. It's not untenable for both specialists to still be racing at the top level by that time, and their careers could even potentially be expanded with the goal of taking this title.

A lot of the current cyclocross pros are in their 30's however, with a few exceptions. We could see Thibau Nys at this point in time be the new face of the discipline, or potentially even the likes of Tibor del Grosso or Jente Michels who currently race for Alpecin-Deceuninck. The time frame provides opportunity for many youngsters including the Aggostinacchio brothers to be in the scene.

In the women's side however not much would very likely change, as the likes of Fem van Empel, Puck Pieterse, Zoe Bäckstedt, Marie Schreiber and Blanka Kata Vas are still in their early 20's, whilst Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado is 27. Only the veterans Lucinda Brand (and Marianne Vos, on paper) could potentially not make it to 2030 still with the same motivation and legs to ride at the very top of the sport.