Protestors disrupted the elite men’s road race at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland on Sunday.
The race was paused with a little over 190 kilometres of the 271km distance remaining, with the road from Edinburgh to Glasgow blocked west of Falkirk.
The protest took place on a narrow stretch of the B818 close to the Carron Valley Reservoir.
Britain’s Owain Doull and Ireland’s Rory Townsend were part of a nine-strong breakaway that had gone seven minutes clear of the main peloton, and were the first to be stopped by officials as the race was neutralised.
With the main peloton then also stopping behind, a police van was seen cutting its way through the mass of riders on the road in order to reach the protest.
UCI president David Lappartient, who had been following the race from one of the lead cars, also walked up the road and was seen enjoying a joke with some of the riders.
French rider Julian Alaphilippe took the opportunity to pose for a selfie with a race official, while fellow former world champion Michal Kwiatkowski sat crossed legged on the floor, with others keeping warm in team cars.
A Police Scotland statement confirmed: "We’re aware of a protest in the Carron Valley area.
"Officers are currently in attendance and engaging with protesters."
A statement from the UCI said: “Further to Police Scotland’s confirmation of a protest in the Carron Valley area, which has temporarily interrupted the men’s road race, we are working closely with all relevant authorities to minimise disruption to the race and also to ensure the safety of riders as our paramount concern.”
Men’s Elite Road Race has been neutralised 🛑#GlasgowScotland2023 pic.twitter.com/6cYguL58Gb
— UCI (@UCI_cycling) August 6, 2023
Protest group 'This is Rigged' have claimed responsibility for the race being halted and claim four people blocked the road to halt the race.
A social media post stated: "4 people with This Is Rigged have blocked the road, halting the Men's Elite Race at the Cycling World Championships this morning.
"They remain on the road with the race unable to continue for the last 40 min."
After a delay of around one hour for the road to be cleared, the race began again at 12.15pm.
