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As someone else pointed out in another thread: for any given sport the olympics is just one competition. For it to remain prestigious it needs to have most of t

As someone else pointed out in another thread: for any given sport the olympics is just one competition. For it to remain prestigious it needs to have most of the best competitors in each sport competing in it, and for that it needs to stay fairly close to the mainstream format and constraints of each sport. Single-design classes are standard in sailing, so the olympics uses them also. They are not standard for cycling, and it would be a huge deviation from conventions of competitive cycling for the olympics to demand them. That doesn't mean they can't or that it wouldn't possibly be worth while. But there are huge costs to doing that, like possibly few or none of the major competitive cyclists competing.

alistairSH 2y ago
100% agree. Just a literal answer the the question. I’d love to see track cycling get more standard equipment. As it is today, some nations pump a ton of money into aerodynamics and RR to substantial advantage. More so than the difference between a Cannondale or Specialized road bike. Or so it seems to me.
eitally 2y ago
And to put a point on this, the top professional road cycling teams in the world only have annual budgets of about $50m (covering 30 cyclists, all the coaches and directors, mechanics and any other crew they may need - physical therapists, chef, etc). Barely the top ten of the top road cyclists earn >$1m/yr. Compare that to mainstream sports that might have a just salary cap of $250m/yr.
emacdona 2y ago
> They are not standard for cycling, and it would be a huge deviation from conventions of competitive cycling for the olympics to demand them. The Olympics (or, perhaps more generally, national team cycling events) _do_ make a huge deviation from the conventions of competitive cycling already: no team radios. One of the reasons they are so fun to watch :-)
- roelschroeven 2y ago
  That is indeed an exception, but IIRC it's not the only event with that exception: I think the world, continental and national championships also don't allow team radios. Another exception is that the Olympics and world and continental championships are ridden with national teams instead of the various commercial teams. That makes quite a difference too.

alistairSH 2y ago

100% agree. Just a literal answer the the question. I’d love to see track cycling get more standard equipment. As it is today, some nations pump a ton of money into aerodynamics and RR to substantial advantage. More so than the difference between a Cannondale or Specialized road bike. Or so it seems to me.

eitally 2y ago

And to put a point on this, the top professional road cycling teams in the world only have annual budgets of about $50m (covering 30 cyclists, all the coaches and directors, mechanics and any other crew they may need - physical therapists, chef, etc). Barely the top ten of the top road cyclists earn >$1m/yr. Compare that to mainstream sports that might have a just salary cap of $250m/yr.

emacdona 2y ago

> They are not standard for cycling, and it would be a huge deviation from conventions of competitive cycling for the olympics to demand them. The Olympics (or, perhaps more generally, national team cycling events) _do_ make a huge deviation from the conventions of competitive cycling already: no team radios. One of the reasons they are so fun to watch :-)

roelschroeven 2y ago
That is indeed an exception, but IIRC it's not the only event with that exception: I think the world, continental and national championships also don't allow team radios. Another exception is that the Olympics and world and continental championships are ridden with national teams instead of the various commercial teams. That makes quite a difference too.