The Chinese Cycling Association (CCA) said on Monday that it was "shocked" and "disappointed" at the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)'s decision to drop the men's one-kilometer and the women's 500m time trial races from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
The two events were axed from the 2008 Olympic program to make way for the debut of Bicycle Motorcross (BMX), the world cycling governing body said last Friday.
"It's unreasonable because the time trials are two of the most competitive and entertaining events on the track," said Jiang Guofeng, CCA's secretary-general.
"Those events that are similar in essence should be dropped instead of the women's 500m time trial and the men's one-kilometer time trial," he added.
China had pinned its gold medal hopes on the women's 500m time trial. Jiang Cuihua won a bronze at the 2000 Games in Sydney and Jiang Yonghua claimed a silver at last year's Athens Games.
The 32-year-old Jiang Yonghua said the new rules could possibly put an end to her professional career. "I don't know why they made such changes and this is certainly a disaster for me," she said.
The CCA had proposed axing the road time races or individual pursuit races but the UCI apparently rejected those proposals.
The change will harm the development of the sport, which has long been dominated by European countries, as the women's 500m time trial is the only event in which Asian cyclists are serious contenders, said Jiang Guofeng.
"Though we feel sorry about the decision, we can do nothing but accept it," he said.
As the 2008 Olympics are to be held on home soil, Chinese cyclists have set a target of winning a gold medal.
Jiang said the change of the Olympic program has prompted the CCA to shift its focus from the women's 500m time trial to the women's individual sprint and points races, two potential strength events for China.
"The change has cast a shadow on China's medal prospects, but we are confident of fulfilling our goal, " he said.
Both the women's 500m time trial and the men's one-kilometer time trial will remain in the program for the world cycling championships.
(Xinhua News Agency June 14, 2005)
