No, but riders could have livestreaming helmet cameras and start/finish at the stadium.
If they are trying to stick with or update the historical aspect of a soldier taking a dispatch across the countryside, a modern soldier will be much more likely to come across an available bicycle than an available horse in most circumstances, I would think.
And if one of the athletes does a bad job on the bicycle, the bicycle will not hold a grudge against the next athlete an hour later.
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I think the issue is that they want the event to finish within 90 minutes JER discussed some of the challenges of changing required clothing quickly. Going out of an urban area to suitable cross country bike trails would be problematic. I have seen video of mountain biking races and they are thrilling.
I think a lot of people could relate to the feeling of being on a bike racing down hill and around curves
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The horsey pajama race.
Clearly, the pentathlon powers-that-be aren’t thinking laterally enough. We did this at my barn’s Christmas shows. Everyone rides as fast as they can from one end of the arena to the other. Then everyone jumps off their horse. Your teammate/pal/helper holds the horse while you pull on pajamas, top and bottoms, over your boots, jodhpurs, etc. All buttons must be done up. This will be examined as anally as an FEI bit check. Then you clamber back on board your horse and run to the opposite of the arena. Fastest wins.
I should add that it’s harder than it sounds. You know what I mean, provided that you have also ended up lying on your back in the arena because your riding boot got stuck in the pajama pants leg, and then it went horribly wrong. Olympic drama, right there.
Requires less horsemanship than a 4’ showjumping course, but more skills at awkwardly putting on clothes and, of course, buttons. Much more pertinent to escaping from behind enemy lines (“is that guy in the pink pig pajamas from the other army?” “Nah, can’t be,”), and better for horse welfare than punters flinging themselves around a 4’ course.
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At the `Tokyo games there were 22 medal events for cycling in;
- Road cycling
- Cross-country mountain biking
- BMX freestyle
- BMX racing
- Track cycling
All would have had International Federations.
There are tons of martial arts not already included.
- Aikido – from Japan, this style is about redirecting the strikes of an attacker with joint locks, throws, and Japanese weapons
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu – grappling and ground fighting are the main things you will learn. However, stikes help move the action to the ground.
- Chun Kuk Do – interestingly, the creator of this American-Korean hybrid style is TV and movie star, Chuck Norris
- Jeet Kune Do – this is the system of Bruce Lee, one of the most iconic martial arts stars
- Jujutsu – a Japanese art that teaches you to manipulate the power of the attacker
- Karate – more than one hundred million people the globe practice karate. You will master hand, elbow, and knee strikes, as well as kicks. There are several styles, but Shotokan has become the most popular. Further styles include Goju-Ryu, Isshin-Ryu, Kyokushin, Shito-Ryu, Shorin-Ryu, and Wado-Ryu.
- Kendo – a sword fighting art
- Kickboxing – power kicks and punches are prominent
- Kung Fu – this Chinese martial art has ten styles. These often have the name of animals, such as Monkey Kung Fu and Praying Mantis Kung Fu.
- MMA – mixed martial arts combines boxing, wrestling, karate, and Jiu-Jitsu
- Muay Thai – from Thailand, this martial art adds elbows and knees, which are not part of kickboxing
- Ninjutsu – the style of the Japanese ninja (assassins and spies)
- Sambo – this Russian martial art has two forms. So, you will be learning Sports Sambo or Combat Sambo
- Tai Chi – known as the “gentle martial art” because you practice techniques in slow motion. This martial art is good for reducing stress and improving balance and health.
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Make some crazy version of this.
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Wow, that is ultimate bike riding. 
That looked like fun, but does it meet the “cheap” criteria? Actually, given MP is supposed to replicate the survival skills of an officer behind enemy lines, how about paint ball combined with mountain biking, one skill avoiding being hit, another achieving a hit. Two for one would certainly reduce costs.
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I hope I didn’t flag your post! Meant to hit the like button and hit the flag instead. I think I backed out before it sent.
That would be a great addition to modernepentathathathalon! There are more and more indoor bike parks cropping up all the time.
To answer someone below - it doesn’t need to be super expensive for the competitors, but I think adding a bike park for one part of one event of 90 minutes (that cannot be used for any other sport at the games) would be a bit much even for the extravagance of the Olympics. Maybe not, I dunno.
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Agreed with the last comment. I’m just saying, it can be done. A cyclocross type of course wouldn’t be as pricey, and doesn’t involve a gigantic land commitment if you make it twisty turny with a handful of laps.
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Compared to, say, the cross country course for the event horses?
At least a bike park might have other users after the Olympics leave town.
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Oh, I like this. Good point.
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If the entire thing is now supposed to take 90 minutes I’m not sure that horses could remain. There is a lot of fussing around with horses and definitely ‘more haste less speed’.
The most remarkable thing I have learned in reading various articles is that the President of the UIPM has been in post for nearly three decades. Not a man given to new ideas, I suspect.
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JER thinks the UIPM leadership must go.
The meeting was held in secret with not all board members present. Right there, that’s not exactly correct process.
The group that voted for this has been planning this for several years. This is a group of self-serving old men who do not represent the athletes or any other stakeholders in the sport.
The UIPM constitution defines modern pentathlon as consisting of 5 sports including riding. To make any changes to that, you have to first change the constitution. Again, process.
No one was consulted about this meeting, this vote, this plan. There’s an athlete rep to the board and an Athletes Committee. They knew nothing.
The UIPM president-for-life told a German media outlet on the weekend that they have already got a replacement sport and it’s not cycling. Then he told another news outlet that they haven’t decided on a sport yet. He’s a liar and in general, a pathetic imperious character who is mocked by everyone in the sport. He’s up for ‘re-election’ - unopposed of course - at the end of the month.
About 700 athletes have expressed no confidence in the president and have demanded the resignation of the board.
There’s been a great outpouring of support for riding in pentathlon on social media. Most athletes love horses and riding - even the ones who aren’t good at it. But for the past 20 years, the self-serving old men who have a stranglehold on UIPM have devalued riding and discouraged/defunded their athletes from even training properly. (Some countries, like Hungary, GB, France, have very strong riding programs.)
The problem with ‘subbing in’ another sport is that the sport can’t be already included in the Olympics and therefore governed by another international federation. And even if it’s not an Olympic sport, it probably has an IF that will protest. But the good news there is that poledancing - which has an IF - is out. Whew.
I’m happy as always to answer questions but will not engage with the crabbies on this forum. If you’d like to stay up to date on developments, you can follow me on Instagram @jersporthorse.
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Does Frisbee Golf have an IF? 
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Dodgeball?
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Ahem. The World Flying Disc Federation.
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Ditto. They are international and growing.
I should mention that the sport I would like to see most in the Olympics is:
Musical Chairs
It would be awesome. Unpredictable. Tense. Everyone has a chance. Anyone can play. Gender equality. No racial bias. Trans athletes allowed. Affordable for all. Doping won’t help you.
The final would have a global audience on the edge of their seats.
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Figures.
Underwater basket weaving would require subjective judging, I take it.
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