Track Champions League a ‘distraction' for Olympians

Too much travelling and disruption to programmes says Park

- Vern Pitt

British Cycling’s performance director Stephen Park has voiced concern that the Track Champions League, which took place last month, could be a “distraction” for Olympic hopefuls.

The new UCI league format, which consisted of the same set of 64 riders racing over four rounds in cities across Europe, came to a climax last month in London, with Katie Archibald taking the women’s endurance crown.

With every round televised and with the UCI partnering Discovery Sports Events, which runs the league, they hope to raise the profile of track cycling and transform it from a minority interest, peaking at the Olympics, into a mainstream sport.

But Park, speaking at the event last month in London, admitted to reservations: “I’m a bit conflicted really, because from a pure Olympic perspective, it’s actually a distraction. Normally at this time in the Olympic cycle, we’d be looking for people to be in the build phase. We’re looking for them to be in the gym or recovering from the Games and then going into the gym.