The Dakar rally was due to get under way in South America yesterday, amid concern about the potential damage that the 8,400km trek through Peru and Chile could cause to the local environment.
Organizers, the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), have already had to reject claims that the 459 cars, bikes, trucks and quad bikes taking part in this year’s edition will cause irreparable harm to ancient archeological sites.
ASO, which also organizes cycling’s most prestigious and gruelling race, the Tour de France, is becoming used to dealing with such questions, as sport in general is increasingly scrutinized about its “green” credentials.
The Dakar rally first revealed its carbon footprint in 2007, trumpeting the fact that the 43,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases it produced was nearly a quarter of that emitted by the French Open tennis tournament (156,000 tonnes).
Motorsport and in particular Formula One — long demonized because of its reliance on fossil fuels — has led the way in publicizing environmental attributes.
“We’ve got this image of waste, but we don’t pollute any more than other events,” said Bernard Niclot, technical director at the International Automobile Federation (FIA) governing body.
FIA president Jean Todt, who formerly led the Ferrari F1 team, has been at the forefront of attempts to use renewable energy sources and staging quieter, more fuel-efficient races.
Next year will see the launch of Formula E, with single-seater electric cars racing at speeds of up to 180kph on city circuits.
Fuel limits will also be introduced in 2014 in endurance racing, following on from existing restrictions on wind tunnel tests, plus the number of engines and gearboxes available for drivers.
The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) aims to reduce its overall carbon footprint by 15 percent in the coming years.
The use of artificial snow and tree felling in ski resorts or heavy water consumption on golf courses have long been targets for environmental campaigners.
However, even apparently “green” sports cannot afford to rest on their laurels.
In 2009, there was outrage after images were shown of about 20 tonnes of rubbish left on Mont Ventoux after the advertising caravan on the Tour de France came through, distributing free gifts to fans.
About 50 tonnes of rubbish was produced during the 2011 New York Marathon, while about 20,000 of the 47,000 participants came from abroad, most of them by high polluting air travel.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but