Road race participants stopped after protesters stuck to the road. Photo: SWpix.com/Alex Broadway
A transgender activist led to the halt of men's road racing at the Cycling World Championships on Sunday to protest sponsorship of the petrochemical industry and the exclusion of transgender athletes.
Five people have been arrested after they stopped an elite men's road race in which activists said it was in response to the sport's recent ruling that only biological women can compete in women's events.
Race on The UCI World Championships, which takes place in Scotland, was stopped for about 50 minutes after activists stuck to the road on a narrow section of the course. The disruption was called «completely pointless» after activists said they also intended to protest fossil fuel mining by disrupting the bike ride.
🚨Protesters halt the Men's Road Race at the World Championships in Scotland.
UCI: «We are working closely with all relevant authorities to minimize disruptions to the race and also make rider safety our top priority.» #GlasgowScotland2023 #cycling pic.twitter.com/vAT0xnzHW7
— Sunny Rudravajhala 📻📺📝 (@Sanny_Rudra) August 6, 2023
❌ pic.twitter.com/kRKAbMyTER
— Eurosport (@eurosport) August 6, 2023 Scottish police officers removed by 'protest suppression team' and taken into custody.
The International Cycling Union, cycling's world governing body, ruled last month that transgender women born of men will not be allowed to race in competitive women's competitions.
Rebecca Kerr, a 28-year-old transgender woman, was among the protesters. She said she sought to highlight the «hypocrisy» by stopping the race. “As a trans woman, I was told that the UCI does not welcome me to the cycle track,” she said.
“At the same time, they allow the petrochemical company to field a team that demonstrates they have no real concern for people. I take to the track to point out this hypocrisy and advocate for a better future.”
Ineos, the petrochemical company that owns the huge Grangemouth industrial complex in Scotland, sponsors the Ineos Grenadiers trading team.
Organizers halted the 271.1-kilometre (168.4 mi) race from Edinburgh to Glasgow after protesters glued themselves to the road. in the Carron Valley area, leading to a large backlog of cyclists.
The UCI World Road Racing Championship is where the activists struck
The breakaway group of nine riders were seven and a half minutes clear of the rest of the peloton by the time the race was stopped. The leading group restarted the race ahead of the other riders as soon as the demonstration was over.
Critics lashed out at the protesters, especially as the race resulted in massive road closures across Scotland to make room for cyclists.
< p> p>
Graeme Simpson, spokesman for Net Zero and Scottish Tory Transport, said: «This was a dangerous act of destruction that endangered both the protesters and the athletes in this race.»
“It makes absolutely no sense for a group that claims to be environmentalist to target an event that promotes active, eco-friendly travel like cycling, and raises huge questions about the true motives of this publicity-seeking group.”< /p> 
UCI President David Lappartien addresses riders after protesters stop the race. Photo: SWpix.com/Alex Broadway
He added: “The World Cycling Championship offers a huge opportunity to promote Glasgow, Scotland and the sport itself around the world. Unfortunately, this was overshadowed by the selfish actions of a few people.
“People are fed up with these childish tricks. The full force of the law must be brought to bear on extremists who disrupt events and people's daily lives.»
The race was ultimately won by the Dutchman Mathieu van der Puel, who won the world title despite falling on a corner in a wet rain in the center of Glasgow.
Mathieu van der Puel crosses the finish line to win the men's world road race at the Cycling World Championships. Photo: Reuters/Maja Smiejkowska. and that they only want «the basic needs of the people to be met».
The group wants the Scottish government to be more vocal in its opposition to new oil and gas developments.
They have become increasingly visible north of the border, last month spray-painted the words «the people are stronger than the lord» on a painting of King Charles III.
One of the protesters, Kat, said: «The fact that Ineos was allowed to sponsor a team in race around Campsie Fells, which was engulfed in wildfires last month, which is a shame and an insult to both the cycling community and the people of Scotland.
“We cannot continue to conduct business as usual until our the country is on fire and our future is destroyed.”
However, Ineos does not sponsor a team in the cycling world championship.
Свежие комментарии