The International Cycling Union (UCI) has given two open places to Chilean cyclists in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, bringing the total number of places to four, the sport's Chilean Federation said on Monday.

 

Cycling has the largest number of Chileans qualified of any single sport. Mountain biker Francisca Campos was the most recent to win a place through competition.

 

"The UCI has just confirmed the great news and we are really happy. We had been hoping for one place, but in the end we won two thanks to Chile's participation in the B World Cup," said Federation spokesman Ivan Vasquez.

 

Vasquez, who also coaches cyclist Victor Garrido, added "the two places will be subject to a national selection process to see who will use them, but the most important thing is that we have them."

 

He said the Chile's cyclists were especially pleased because the country had not achieved very impressive results in the Pan-American Games, held in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro in July.

 

Chile's Olympic team so far is the following: shot-putters Marco Antonio Verni and Natalia Duco; Campos and speed cyclist Matias del Solar; pentathlete Cristian Bustos; and swimmer Kristel K Brich.

 

(Xinhua News Agency October 30, 2007)