Track cycling is an optional sport of the Commonwealth Games but has featured in every edition from 1934, when track events were held in Manchester, despite the Games being held in London, with the event then still officially known as the Empire Games.

It follows the launch of the South African city's official bid for the Games at Mansion House in London, with track cycling a notable omission from the Bid Book submitted to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).

With Durban not having an existing velodrome the potential costs involved in building the venue appear to be the main reason behind track cycling's omission.

It comes less than a year after the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome was one of the main attractions of Glasgow 2014.

Cycling has been one of the more successful sports for both Australia and England in previous editions, the two best achieving nations in the history of the Games.

Road cycling and mountain biking remain on the proposed programme of events for Durban 2022, with mountain biking set to be the event furthest from the host city, 80 kilometres away in Pietermaritzburg on the course on which the 2013 World Championships were held.  

Also missing from the proposed schedule of sports is full-bore shooting a traditional event of the Commonwealth Games and has featured in every edition since its introduction at Kingston 1966.

At this stage no plans appear to be listed for a venue for gymnastics, while despite South African being a foremost cricketing nation, the sport will not feature in 2022.

Commonwealth Games Federation President Prince Imran, suggested they might focus on events rather than sports in the future ©Getty Images



The CGF have long campaigned for the sport to be a regular part of the Games but, apart from Kuala Lumpur in 1998, the sport has not featured, mainly due to opposition from India and England. 

Prince Imran of Malaysia, President of the CGF, revealed they might begin to look towards the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) new model of focusing on events rather than sports.

"We in the [Commonwealth Games] Federation have got to be more flexible as we go forward and I do not think we need to be stuck on 'X number' of sports," he said. 
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"You look at what the IOC has put forward, the total numbers and you look at the events, then maybe you can then accommodate more sports."

At the moment, the Commonwealth Games programme consists of 10 core sports - athletics, badminton, men's boxing, hockey, lawn bowls, netball, men's rugby sevens, squash, swimming and weightlifting - with each host selecting up to seven others of their choice.

Potential changes to this system are likely to be confirmed at September's CGF General Assembly in Auckland. 

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