Exclusive: Cookson offers encouragement for future Turkmenistan World Track Cycling Championships bid

A 6,000-seater velodrome is part of an Olympic Complex which is being constructed in Ashgabat ©Polimeks

International Cycling Union President Brian Cookson has offered his encouragement for a future Turkmenistan bid for the World Track Cycling Championships but believes the Asian nation would benefit from gaining further experience in hosting cycling events before attempting to stage the showpiece.

The prospect of a bid for the 2017 edition had been raised at the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) General Assembly in Turkmenistan's capital Ashgabat, when the country's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov reiterated his aim to use sport to raise the profile of his nation.

Major events, including the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, are due to take place in the country, as a result of the construction of an Olympic Complex in Ashgabat which will cost around $5 billion (£3 billion/€4.5 billion).

Among the facilities already constructed is the 6,000-seater Ashgabat Sports Complex Velodrome, one of the largest in the world, which was visited by Cookson during the Assembly.

“There’s a superb velodrome there, a huge building that is completely unused at the moment,” Cookson told insidethegames.

“There is a wonderful opportunity to put on events there, I know they are very keen on putting forward a bid for the World Track Championships.

“The President of the Republic was at the OCA Congress and he spoke very favourably about the idea of having a World Track Cycling Championships there and it is something we can do.

“Maybe we would like them to have some experience first, perhaps with a junior World Championships, as Kazakhstan did earlier this year.”

Brian Cookson has offered his encouragement for a future Turkmenistan bid for the World Track Cycling Championships ©Getty Images

Should Turkmenistan succeed in their ambition to host the Championships, which are next set to be held in London from March 2 to 6, it would be the highest-profile sporting event held in the former Soviet nation.

It would also see the Championships make a rare appearance in Asia as despite being held in almost every year since 1893, the city of Maebashi in Japan has been the only hosts from the continent having staged the event in 1990.

Cookson though believes it is natural that the event will be shared across the continents more in the coming years.

“The World Championships for cycling have to go around the world and they are not predominately going to be held in Europe," he said.

"That is something I think we are all getting used to.

“There are many places around the world who want to organise cycling events and we have to recognise the perfectly valid ambitions of all parts of the world.”