Mayor of London Boris Johnson has confirmed the London 2012 Olympic Games velodrome will be put forward as a venue for the 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships.

The already iconic ‘pringle’ velodrome will be a central part of the London 2012 legacy velopark, and a hosting of the Track Worlds in 2016 would confirm its status as one of the world’s premier cycling venues.

“I want our great capital city to play its own part in the cycling revolution that is taking place by hosting the track cycling World Championships in 2016,” said Johnson in a statement issued just after Bradley Wiggins clinched victory in the 2012 Tour de France.

“This is the best sports city in the world and the wonderful velodrome we have built in east London would be packed to the rafters for such an event.”

The London velodrome hosted a sell-out round of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in February, which also served as the official Olympic test event prior to the Games.

Britain hosted the Track Cycling World Championships in the National Cycling Centre in Manchester in 2008, the year that Britain’s track cycling team won 12 medals at the Beijing Olympic Games.

The Track World Champs isn’t the only top-level cycling event that is being invited to come to Britain in 2016. In March it was revealed that Yorkshire had put in a formal bid to host the Grand Depart of the 2016 Tour de France.

London bus drivers are seriously contemplating industrial action over the Olympic Games with a favourable vote to strike if they don’t get a £500 bonus for working during the period.

Unite union members voted nine to one for the industrial action, advice with just 38% of members participating. The union is pressing for the bonus, prostate which would cost bus operators some £14 million for 20,000 bus staff. This comes as the city expects 800,000 more people to use the buses over the period.

The strike will allow Unite to set a date for industrial action, but it hasn’t yet. The union said it was giving the 21 bus operators a last chance to think about the overwhelming favour resulting from the ballot before they announce any possible strike dates this week. It claims that all other transport workers are getting a premium to work during the Games. According to regulation, the union has 28 days to stage a strike to keep its mandate alive. If that doesn’t happen, its members won’t be able to take action during the Games and will have to be balloted again.

Unite regional secretary Peter Kavanagh says that talks have been going on for a year. Their members only want an extra £17 per day, which will just about buy a portion of fish and chips and pint of beer at the Olympics. Bus workers want the Games to be successful, but they have run out of patience. Every transport worker in London will be given a reward in recognition of their major contribution to the historic event – except bus staff. This row could end now if the bus companies and Transport for London (TfL) have the will to offer such a small amount of money in comparison to the billions the Games is costing, he added.

The bus companies argue that they can’t afford extra payments under the strict terms of their contracts with the TfL. However, the transport authority says the operators are suppose to take care of any extra pay. It’s understood that the Acas, the conciliation service, hasn’t been contacted, but it’s one option for the bus companies and London Mayor Boris Johnson if they want to end the immediate threat of dates for industrial action. Under the 1992 Trade Union and Labour Relations Act’s terms, Unite can’t target the Olympics right away a leverage in negotiations.

TfL managing director of surface transport Leon Daniels says that he’s not surprised that 70% of the bus drivers in London didn’t submit a vote for the ballot. That’s because about 70% of local bus services won’t be affected by the Olympic Games. The bonus is another multimillion pound burden for hard-pressed taxpayers and passengers, he added. The turnout for the ballot will likely add more heat to Johnson’s fire in calling for a minimum voting threshold of 50% to be imposed on ballots for industrial action. Unite argues back that he was reelected as mayor on the same turnout last month.

Meanwhile, workers for London Overground, London Underground, Virgin Trains, Docklands Light Railways and Network Rail will be paid a between £500 and £900 Olympics bonus. It was just agreed about a week ago that Underground staff will get up to £850 each for working during the Games.

Pasadena’s American Football stadium the Rose Bowl is set to undergo a US$152 million upgrade, it has been announced.

The Rose Bowl Operating Co. successfully agreed on the plan in a vote last week, and on Monday the Pasadena City Council approved the three-year renovation on the 88-year-old stadium.

It has been reported the upgrades will create around 1,000 jobs and will increase the number of “premium seats” in the stadium from 500 to 2,500. City Council officials have said the renovations will secure the financial future of the stadium.

Councilman Steve Madison said: “Just as our forbearers 80 to 100 years ago invested enormous sums for them to make Pasadena the city it has become in the last century, so too, do we have a historic opportunity to reinvest and ensure that our kids and grandkids have the same amenities.”

The International Ski Federation (FIS) have announced that live broadcasts of the 2015 FIS Freestyle and Snowboard World Championships will be streamed on YouTube.

The Championships, cialis which will take place in Kreischberg, Austria from 15 – 25 January 2015, mark the first time ever that fans of the two disciplines will be provided with online live coverage free-of-charge. The programing will encompass all 24 FIS Freestyle and Snowboard World Championships Finals in full length. 

Marcel Looze, FIS Marketing Manager, said: “With athletes from 45 nations competing, the Snowboard and Freestyle Skiing events hold high appeal in the global skiing community – especially amongst a young fan base. Benefitting from Infront’s production capabilities and digital media expertise, we have developed a strong concept to leverage the potential of our existing YouTube channels and make this FIS World Championship available to fans all around the world.”

British Cycling has appointed Adrian Lord as its first infrastructure expert to act as a consultant on how to design cycle friendly cities, discount the sports governing body announced today.

Lord, a transport consultant specialising in cycle infrastructure design and promotional strategies, will be an adviser to British Cycling on cycle-proofing road layouts, junctions and route design.   

One of British Cycling’s key ambitions is to get the government to put cycling at the heart of its transport policy. Adrian Lord’s appointment will give British Cycling someone with the authority and experience to make meaningful and informed contributions to policy development on how Britain can cycle-proof its road infrastructure.    

British Cycling’s Director of Policy and Legal Affairs, Martin Gibbs, said: “The fact that British Cycling has brought its own infrastructure expert on board is a sign of how seriously we’re taking the government’s cycling ambitions. We recognise that the key to transforming our villages, towns and cities into cycle-friendly environments – and in turn getting millions more people on bikes – is totally about getting it right on infrastructure. I look forward to working closely with Adrian over the coming months.” 

Commenting on his appointment, Adrian Lord, said: “I’m really pleased to be working with British Cycling and sharing my expertise on cycling infrastructure. I want to help encourage local authorities and planners to make the right decisions on how to design their roads and junctions with cyclists in mind.

“Cycle proofing isn’t just about making the roads safer for cyclists, it’s about creating routes that are convenient for cycling with an appropriate level of segregation on links and of priority at junctions. 

A well designed route is intuitive – drivers will automatically adjust their speed, all users will know when to give way and when they have priority. Properly designing towns and cities for cyclists would have an immeasurable impact on everyone in the country creating more pleasant and sustainable places to live.”

Adrian has been a transport consultant for over 18 years and has headed up projects for Cycling England and the Department for Transport. Adrian has significant experience in designing cycle-friendly infrastructure and has contributed to the design of cycle schemes across the UK including projects on the London Cycle Network and the National Cycle Network.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has increased a dope-related ban on six Indian athletes from one year to two years.

CAS posted on its website that it had upheld an appeal by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for stricter punishment. The original year-long ban was decided by Indian authorities.

Asian Games gold medalist Ashwini Akkunji, abortion and team-mates Mandeep Kaur, Sini Jose, Jauna Murmu, Tiana Mary and Priyanka Panwar, tested positive for banned steroids in June 2011.

The CAS statement said the cases were referred to a sole arbitrator, Mark Hovell , who upheld the appeal by the IAAF for two-year bans.

“Mandeep Kaur, Jauna Murmu, Ashwini, Panwar, Mary Thomas and Jose are all declared ineligible for a period of two years starting from the date of the award [17 July 2012],” the statement said.

The ruling came with a provision to reduce the period of suspension already served, meaning the athletes will be eligible for competition from June next year.{jcomments on}

Football’s governing body FIFA has promoted Delia Fischer as the new Head of Media.

Fischer, who joined FIFA in 2002, will replace the outgoing Pekka Odriozola who left after eight years with FIFA to pursue a new challenge. He will leave the organisation on 6 September 2013.

“On behalf of FIFA, I would like to thank Pekka for the huge contribution he has provided during his time with football’s world governing body. His expertise, professionalism and commitment have been outstanding. We wish him the very best for the future”, commented FIFA’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs Walter De Gregorio.

The Lake Tahoe Winter Games Exploratory Committee (LTWGEC) announced additional members of its Board of Directors today after convening its inaugural meeting in Olympic Valley, sale California last Friday.

Members of the board unanimously supported that the organization turn its attention to the next available (when the United States Olympics Committee (USOC) decides to bid) Winter Olympic games while simultaneously focusing its efforts on attracting world class sporting events to the region in preparation for a potential bid.

The board of the LTWGEC is comprised of Nevadans and Californians who have come together to create a bi-state effort focused on creating the environment for a potential Olympic bid.

The LTWGEC’s actions came on the heels of the announcement by the USOC that it would not be bidding on the 2022 Winter Olympics. The USOC said that it would instead make a decision in the Fall regarding mounting an American bid for either the Summer 2024 or Winter 2026 Olympics.

“The LTWGEC strongly supports and endorses the USOC’s decision to delay the U.S. bid for future Olympic Games,” said Andy Wirth, CEO of Squaw/Alpine and acting chair of the board of directors for the LTWGEC. “We feel the decision puts Lake Tahoe in a much stronger position to be the host of the next Winter Olympic Games in North America, whenever that is.”

Last Friday, the LTWGEC held its inaugural meeting with its new board of directors.

“We are very proud to have such an esteemed group of Californians and Nevadans coming together to create a truly bi-state effort here in our region,” said Wirth. “Our region – from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe to Reno – has the right combination of venues and physical splendor to make it one the world’s great destinations for Winter sports and this committee is dedicating itself to that ideal.”

In the coming weeks, the LTWGEC will make a series of announcements about the committee’s goals, its dedication to the region’s glorious physical environment, its commitment to working with all the local communities in the area and additional board members.

“Stay tuned as we’re just getting started but this is an important first step,” Wirth continued. “We’re going to work with our neighbors, our community members, and create something truly special for the region.”