Protesters target 'polluting sponsors' in halting World Championships road race

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The UCI Road World Championships elite men's road race was stopped after 80km of racing for over 50 minutes on Sunday when protesters blocked the road. 

A breakaway of nine riders had a lead of almost eight minutes on the peloton and were on a narrow road on a climb in Denny County near the Carron Valley Reservoir, 192 kilometres before the finish in Glasgow when they came across the blockage. 

Four demonstrators from a group called 'This is Rigged' glued themselves to the road and chained themselves together ahead of the race, bringing both groups to a halt.

"This may take a while," the organization admitted, as riders took the chance to have a nature break in the grassy verge or sit and stretch their legs.

UCI President David Lappartient left the commissaire's car and walked back through the bunch with a concerned expression as police worked to try and clear the way.

The UCI issued a brief statement via social media.

“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.”

A Scottish environmental group called 'This is Rigged' confirmed to Cyclingnews that they staged the protest. The group aims to stop the Scottish government from approving new fossil fuel projects in the country and create a transition fund for oil and gas workers.

"Today the men's world championship UCI cycling four protesters from This is Rigged jumped onto the track in front of the race and glued themselves onto the road and also locked themselves to one another using chains and bike locks," said the organisation's spokesperson Lewis Conroy of Glasgow.

"The reason why we did this is the Scottish Government has not responded to Westminster's intention to license over 100 new oil and gas projects in the North Sea in Scotland."

"The action itself was not about the cycling. We're obviously pro-cycling but we've been forced to act to see that peoples' basic necessities have been met by the Scottish government. As they continue to ignore our demands we felt as though we were forced to act. This is Rigged is demanding the Scottish government vocally oppose all new oil and gas licensing and create a clear and fully funded plan for a fair transition for all of Scotland's oil workers."

Also factoring into the protest were some of cycling's most prominent sponsors, including Shell who sponsor the British national team and WorldTour team sponsor Ineos.

"The UCI championships have been sponsored by some pretty evil corporations like Shell and Ineos, so you can really see how it taints the idea that cycling is good for the planet and good for the environment when you have these ridiculously polluting corporations sponsoring it. It's a bit ironic and that was also part of the idea behind the protest," Conroy said.

For more information and all the action from the rest of the race, follow our live coverage by clicking below.

UCI World Championships Elite Men's Road Race Live