ROAD RAGE

Protesters slammed, Event is able to resume for for disrupting elite race spectacular rain-soaked finale

- JORDAN SHEPHERD

A MAJOR event in the UCI Cycling World Championships was disrupted when eco-protesters glued themselves to a road in Central Scotland.

Five people were arrested during the Men's Elite Road Race yesterday when the lead riders' climb, on a narrow stretch of the B818, near the Carron Valley Reservoir, was blocked at about 11.20am.

Four demonstrators glued themselves to the road and chained themselves together.

Organisers were forced to pause the 170-mile race but it was able to resume and finish in Glasgow.

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: "Our Protest Removal Team safely removed and arrested five protesters."

Eco-group This Is Rigged claimed responsibility for the disruption.

Cat, 21, believed to be one of the protesters, said: "The fact that Ineos has been allowed to sponsor a team in the race around the Campsie Fells, which were engulfed in wildfires last month, is a disgrace and an insult to both the cycling community and the people of Scotland. We can't continue with business as usual while our country burns and our futures are ruined.