KYQ4: World Cycling Championships

Women's Elite Last Lap, Park Circus

The World Cycling Championships were in Scotland. All types of cycling were on display, from Road Racing to BMX freestyle to Mountain Biking and incorporating Para-Cycling on both the track and road. The events were spread out from Fort William to Peebles to Dumfries with the Time Trails in Stirling, Road Races across Central Scotland. Track Cycling at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and BMX events in Glasgow. It was a chance to sample how cycling has escalated from a humble mode of transport in towns and cities to a staple ingredient of sport, leisure activities and healthy lifestyles. It was the first time all the disciplines had come together with 200 world champion Rainbow Jerseys to be won. The success was measured by over half a million people turning out to watch the events and by the excellent comprehensive coverage by the BBC.

First up was the velodrome and the chance to catch up with an old school friend I used to ride to school with on his Dad's tandem. Para-Cycling had been integrated into the World Championships and there were several tandem events with the para-cyclists piloted by experienced ex-professional cyclists who were usually more powerful than the lighter competitor seated behind. The speed of the tandems on the track was very impressive and, surprisingly, we saw no accidents. The velodrome was full and apart from the lengthy queue to enter the velodrome and the noisy diesel generators in the team trucks parked alongside, the whole event was superbly managed with events taking place with a minimum of delay despite the need for setting the bikes onto timing devices at the start.

I watched the Women's Time Trial in Stirling where the ascent of the cobbled streets to the Castle was the straw that broke the majority of cyclists. I watched the American rider, Chloe Dygert, ride so much more smoothly than the other riders in the early starts and she held on to win against the most of the favourites who were scheduled to start at the end of the field. The number of vehicles and motorbikes following each rider made a mockery of the notion that cycling is a sustainable sport. The Police must have had over 50 motorcyclists and each rider had a support car, usually a SUV and another motorcyclist accompanying them.

Crowds were not allowed onto the Castle esplanade to watch the medal ceremony despite the PA announcer urging us to go along. Hundreds of supporters had attended from most European countries and they were disappointed that the UCI had restricted access to stewards and cyclists. It was a bad mistake, the last time we had an event like this was the first stage of the Prutour of Britain in 1998 won by Chris Boardman when the large esplanade was open to the public. We complained and the head steward seemed to agree with the sentiment of the irate crowd.

My old school friend, together with his son who is an ex-professional cyclist, who runs a cycling business in France, and his two sons visited for the Men's Time Trial that passed through the village. There had been lots of locals moaning about the road closures and the fact that the roads had been resurfaced for the cyclists but there was a good turnout of several hundred. Watching Geraint Thomas, Tadej Pogacar, Filippo Ganna, Remco Evenepoel and Wout Van Aert hurtle through the village at twice the speed limit was spectacular. Van Aert had spent a few days in the area and shattered most of the Strava segments and will have put crowns out of reach for local cyclists for all time.

The road races passed through the Stirling area so there were good opportunities to watch the men's elite, the men's under 23 and women's elite races. I set off on my road bike to watch the first of these but had to return home with a puncture and thought I had insufficient time to get back to see the race near Fintry. I could have made it as the Stop Oil demonstrators had stopped the race for an hour by glueing themselves to the freshly resurfaced narrow road. On consecutive days I watched the Men's Under 23 and Women's Elite Race pass through Balfron on the country section of these races which finished after crossing the Campsiers with a criterium of 7 laps in Glasgow.

We drove from Balfron to Glasgow to watch the elite women make 7 terrifying 14-kilometre laps of Glasgow's hills and potholes with 48 sharp bends and no respite. We enjoyed some wonderful viewing points in and around the West End and visited the University Quadrangle and Cloisters whilst dodging between Gibson Street, Kelvin Way, Great George Street, University Avenue and Park Circus to see the leading group. I took myself to stand opposite Aileen's old flat on Great George Street where we had spent time when we first met. We saw crashes on the Kelvin Way, speeds of 60kph on the descent to Gibson Street and hairpin pinch points on the ascent to Park Circus which explained why there were so few finishers from over 200 starters. Lotte Kopecky of Belgium won the race after breaking free on the last lap and leaving some stellar names in her slipstream.

The caravan of backup vehicles and motorcycles was even more disturbing than during the time trials. They were bunched together and flying around bends and down hills at speeds that defied any definition of safe driving. We saw Anna Henderson crash at the bend on Kelvin Way when she was a contender in the leading group. We were standing next to the crash and watched the delays in getting her a new wheel and then a new bike with a mechanic running back and forth to the team car which was 8 or 9 vehicles behind. It convinced me that the caravan of chasing vehicles simply delays recovery from punctures or crashes and severely hinders the unfortunate riders. We had a jam of twenty or thirty support cars for the wealthier teams that were a barrier to the second group of cyclists. Anna Henderson lost at least three minutes and had no chance to rejoin the leading group. Cyclists from less developed nations have no team cars and have to rely on a motorbike that carries 4 or 5 spare wheels. This causes little disturbance to the race if there is an accident in a criterium race. In this respect cycling is like rowing, sailing, and equestrian events, it discriminates against competitors from less developed nations who do not have the resources to have the same level of technical or individual support.

By Sunday evening we were all pedalled out and watched the edited highlights of the race. There had been some great filming of locations. The countryside of Stirling looked good and the Glasgow 14-kilometre circuit gave a flattering vision of Glasgow's scenic buildings and parks. More important were the crowds who were noisily appreciative. As a spectacle, it had worked well for the UCI and Scotland.