The cyclo-cross rider will have to shelve their dreams about attending the Winter Olympics. At the meeting of the International Olympic Committee in Monte-Carlo yesterday, it was decided not to change the rule that the Games are only for sports that take place on either ice or snow.

Earlier this year, IOC president Thomas Bach said that he wanted to change and modernize the Olympic program. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, president of the International Chess Federation, asked him to add his sport to the Winter Games. UCI president Brian Cookson also saw an opportunity. "I am convinced that cyclocross would add value to the Winter Games," the president of the International Cycling Union said. "According to the Olympic charter, only sports on snow or ice are considered as winter sports, but if Bach says he wants change..."

Both Ilyumzhinov and Cookson lost the battle. At its 127th Meeting, the IOC decided that more sports can be added to the Olympic programme but that the Winter Games will be reserved for sports on ice or snow.

The meeting in Monte Carlo was a great success for Bach. The delegates accepted all forty recommendations made for the 2020 Olympic Games unanimously. "The Olympic Agenda 2020 is like a jigsaw puzzle. Now that all reform proposals have been approved, you can see the whole picture," the leader of the international sports federation said. "A picture of progress that guarantees the uniqueness of the Olympics. "