Tennis mixed doubles and new track cycling disciplines for men and women have been added to the London 2012 Olympics events schedule, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said yesterday.

The IOC said the changes were triggered by the need to refresh the events programme and increase the number of female athletes in the Games.

In cycling, men and women will have the same five events, namely the sprint, team sprint, keirin, the new multi-event omnium and team pursuit.

The omnium is a multi-discipline event made up of five separate races, a 200-metre flying start time trial, a 5-km scratch race, a 3-km individual pursuit, a 15-km points race and a 1-km time trial.

Supporters of the omnium say it rewards the best all-round track cyclist and provides good entertainment for fans and TV. But the exclusion of the popular individual pursuit has angered some cyclists and fans of the popular event.

"We have followed the advice of the UCI (International Cycling Federation).

"They are adamant the new programme is an improvement for cycling," IOC president Jacques Rogge told reporters.

In tennis, the mixed doubles has been introduced without increasing the number of overall competitors "to provide another opportunity for men and women to compete together on the same field of play", the IOC said.

Tennis, which featured mixed doubles until the 1924 Games, returned to the Olympics in 1988 without the mixed doubles discipline.

The mixed doubles competition format will include 16 teams in an elimination event.