Retired top French cyclist Marion Clignet agrees that the UCI's decision to axe the kilo and the 500m time trial from the Olympics is short-sighted. "I'm stumped, shelled for the women's 500 and the kilo which are, in my opinion, far more interesting than the Madison and definitely more spectator friendly," Clignet wrote to Cyclingnews. "I had heard last year that the Madison was going and I wasn't going to lose sleep over it. Don't get me wrong, it's a great event but...it's true that spectators have a really difficult time following it, whereas the kilo and 500 are straightforward. How can they be taken out like that? Does the UCI have the right to take out these events without consulting federations and athletes, and do they have the right to bring the already very few women's speed events down to one? I should think not. I say we do something about it!"
