UCI World Championships 2023 (Spoliers)

[GilesM]

As I live close to Edinburgh, i cycled up to see the start in the hope of seeing some of the current pro’s (which I did!).
But I was minding my own business near the start, looked up and walking down the other side of the barriers was none other than 5 times Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault. No one paying him the blindest bit of attention until someone in a loud Northern Irish accent booms out, Bonjour Bernard. He looked over, waved and smiled. Fair made my day!

Mind you, I was too scare to call him over for a selfie, he can be a bit moody lol

We parked at Carronvalley MTB place and walked up the road a short way to watch, we could have done with M. Hinault's and his slightly moody talents. Fantastic race, best man won, best men got the medals.

 

[BrumJim]

What's the age limit for the men's junior road race ? - they all look about 25 !!!

18.

 

[BrumJim]

It was a group called This is Rigged.
Their main issue seems to be sponsorship from Ineos.

Bit of a miss, since it is national squads rather than trade teams competing. Although I did see an Ineos van and a Team DSM coach when we were up there.

 

[BrumJim]

How did Pog out sprint Mads ?

I was thinking that. Probably because Pog let Mads lead all the way after Van Aert left them both.

 

[matticus]

Is this the "stop oil" people?
Ironic isn't it, that they are disrupting a human powered sport that encourages the masses to take up cycling and leave their cars behind!

Team Ineos?
Total Energies?
UNo-X?
British Cycling: main sponsor - Shell Oil?

You've probably heard of some of these!

 

[rualexander]

Some pics from yesterday's road race

 

[13 rider]

I was thinking that. Probably because Pog let Mads lead all the way after Van Aert left them both.

Just seen at interview on YouTube , Pog described it as sprint of the walking dead 😂 just of case of who had a bit more left

 

[T4tomo]

Just seen at interview on YouTube , Pog described it as sprint of the walking dead 😂 just of case of who had a bit more left

exactly after an attritional, was it 280km?, "whose the best sprinter" often comes down to "whose not completely dead on their feet /pedals"

 

[Jameshow]

exactly after an attritional, was it 280km?, "whose the best sprinter" often comes down to "whose not completely dead on their feet /pedals"

Also Pog WVA probably had a harder tdf??

 

[Dogtrousers]

MVDP was so tired he had to stop for a quick lie down.

 

[GilesM]

Team Ineos?
Total Energies?
UNo-X?
British Cycling: main sponsor - Shell Oil?

You've probably heard of some of these!

Not so sure TIR have though, their justification was somewhat less well thought out than your brief post, and seemed to include a rant about the recent UCI ban on Trans men competing in womens races, it all comes across as a wee bit of spoilt brat attention seeking.
As the break was brought to a stop a few yards down the road from where we were watching I was a tad annoyed about the two chumps stuck to the road, selfish doesn't even get remotely close to describe their actions, however when I got home later and watched the race, I realised it was only a small bit of the race where we were standing that was impacted, and the rest was a fantastic race, watched by huge crowds, showing some great parts of Scotland, with an amazing final couple of laps. It is a worlds that will always be remembered as a great bike race, can't wait to see MVDP in the rainbow Jersey in the classics next year.

 

[matticus]

Not so sure TIR have though, their justification was somewhat less well thought out than your brief post, and seemed to include a rant about the recent UCI ban on Trans men competing in womens races, it all comes across as a wee bit of spoilt brat attention seeking.
As the break was brought to a stop a few yards down the road from where we were watching I was a tad annoyed about the two chumps stuck to the road, selfish doesn't even get remotely close to describe their actions,

Really? Do you have any citation of that? It's not what the protest group said to Cycling News:
"
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.
"

My bold.

Your phrase "spoilt brat attention seeking" is vacuous to say the least. Was a small part of your day disrupted? Oh dear.
These people risked getting arrested in an attempt to make my life, your life, and our grandchildres live better. "Attention seeking" ?? It's called protest, my friend. See also: Gandhi, Martin Luther King, et al ...

Wait till you hear what the Suffragettes got upto (do you think women wanting to vote were just attention seeking? )

 

[Jameshow]

Really? Do you have any citation of that? It's not what the protest group said to Cycling News:
"
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.
"

My bold.

Your phrase "spoilt brat attention seeking" is vacuous to say the least. Was a small part of your day disrupted? Oh dear.
These people risked getting arrested in an attempt to make my life, your life, and our grandchildres live better. "Attention seeking" ?? It's called protest, my friend. See also: Gandhi, Martin Luther King, et al ...

Wait till you hear what the Suffragettes got upto (do you think women wanting to vote were just attention seeking? )

Really I do hope you don't have anything plastic in your house, nor travel by any vehicle including bike (perhaps a bamboo bike with hemp drive) and wear shoes without any soles or uppers except leather but I'm sure you disagree with that!

 

[GilesM]

Really? Do you have any citation of that? It's not what the protest group said to Cycling News:
"
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.
"

My bold.

Your phrase "spoilt brat attention seeking" is vacuous to say the least. Was a small part of your day disrupted? Oh dear.
These people risked getting arrested in an attempt to make my life, your life, and our grandchildres live better. "Attention seeking" ?? It's called protest, my friend. See also: Gandhi, Martin Luther King, et al ...

Wait till you hear what the Suffragettes got upto (do you think women wanting to vote were just attention seeking? )

This was posted in the Torygraph:
Rebecca Kerr, a 28-year-old trans woman, was among the protesters. She said she had been keen to highlight “hypocrisy” by halting the race. “As a trans woman, I’ve been told I’m not welcome on the cycling track by the UCI,” she said.

I am really a bit confused by the report in cyclingnews, I was there, I only saw two protesters on the road, and then the same two being held by the police after the race and race vehicles had gone, and they didn't exactly jump in front of the race, they were on the road about 10 minutes before the break arrived.

They certainly are not making my life or your life any better, while we transition away from fossil fuels, I would prefer to use stuff we dig out of the North Sea as opposed to buying it from mad Mr Putin, net zero is not going to happen overnight. As for the famous protestors you refer to, they had one huge disadvantage compared to the TIR people of today, it's called a vote, and rather bizarrely there are many people in the Scottish government (SNP and Greens) who agree with TIR, hence their protest was completely pointless, and why I think of them as attention seeking spoilt brats.

I don't believe I mentioned that my day was disrupted, it was actually a very good day, we had very good lunch in a new cafe near Fintry, then went off for a drive in lovely parts of the country I don't know very well. Then I got home and watched a fantastic bike race on the TV.

 

[FishFright]

Really I do hope you don't have anything plastic in your house, nor travel by any vehicle including bike (perhaps a bamboo bike with hemp drive) and wear shoes without any soles or uppers except leather but I'm sure you disagree with that!

Wooosh