Sabotage hits Britain's biggest cycle race
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Independent Minds
Cyclists repair punctured tyres at Kinloch Rannoch during the temporary postponement of Etape Caledonia, an 81 mile road cycling race in Scotland
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An audacious act of sabotage threw one of Britain's biggest cycle races into chaos yesterday when a protester, presumably angered by road closures for the annual 3,500-cyclist Etape Caledonia, scattered the road with grey carpet tacks, puncturing hundreds of tyres.
"I got my first puncture at the bottom of the big climb," said Sky newsreader Dermot Murnaghan, who was riding in the event for the first time. "I managed to change it but then got another puncture 200 yards later. It was chaos."
Now in its third year, the Etape Caledonia, which raises money for Macmillan Cancer Support, has been unpopular with a minority of locals who complain that the road closures can leave rural homes cut off for hours. At last year's ride, members of Against Closed Roads Events picketed the route.
Halfway into the 81-mile course around Perthshire yesterday it was clear something was wrong. With riders reaching speeds exceeding 40mph, a front-tyre blowout could have resulted in serious injuries. "I've been training six months for this and then some moron goes to a hardware store and gets a load of tacks, ruining a glorious event," added Murnaghan, 51.
The sabotage throws into doubt the ability of the UK cycling organisations to host the type of closed-road events common on the continent. Tayside police are investigating the incident and race organisers said they had a "positive line of enquiry".
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Idiot.
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I thank you
Firozali A.Mulla
This incident highlights the level of ignorance by the UK public. Hopefully the idiots will be found. About ten years community service painting cycling lanes in Perthshire should be reasonable punishment.
A laudable event raising money for charity and a mixture of arduous exercise and sheer good fun enjoyed by thousands is harmed by a few.
I despair of this country.
Nos235, you are just another example of the thoughtless inmates of this land, who think it is funny to see things destroyed.
Basically there's too many people. New Zealand is the same size but has 5 million people.
The UK is that size with 60 million people and Labour bringing in 300 000 more people a year.
No wonder everyone's stressed.
Also in a country where cycling is a popular national sport, and where locals are consulted massively beforehand, and probaly treated with rather more consideration.
Like I said, try closing down a chunk of rural Surrey each year and see what happens.
If only the people of East London had taken such a spirited attitude to the olympic collaborators, instead of supinely allowing their homes and businesses to be demolished.
That is a situation made worse by the traffic in this country, the majority of which acts with a rather homicidal attitude towards cyclists. I say this as an extremely experienced road cyclist who ALWAYS obeys the rules of the road and yet still get copious aggro from drivers who don't believe that cyclists have a right to be on roads.
The rights and wrongs of hosting the Olympics is a totally different issue... But that you consider "spirited attitude" to include the spiteful act of spreading tacks across a road full of cyclists (at the bottom of a hill, which is SO dangerous, because as has been pointed out, a front blowout can have catastrophic results for a rider at speed...) then YOU are as small minded as the person who did this.
If I were marooned in my house by the constraints imposed by a Sky sleb's day out, I'd be pissed off, too.
Try closing down 81 miles of rural Surrey and see what happens!
Gee whiz. No WONDER they were so angry?! They could be CUT OFF FROM CIVILISATION FOR HOURS AT A TIME! Did they stock up on water and supplies before this calamity struck? Did they have a diesel generator so that they didn't all die of hypothermia? My word, how did those poor people SURIVIVE, literally CUT OFF FOR HOURS?!!!!
Ahem. I tried to get a bit more sarcasm in there, but it's difficult.
This was disgraceful. People come out for a sporting event that locals should be proud of hosting, and yes, some idiot comes and does something a) extremely dangerous and b) utterly pathetic and obviously the work of a VERY small, petty and BITTER mind.
I would hope that whoever did it is found and prosecuted, but it'll never happen.
Don, Germany
If it WAS hardship caused by a disaster, 'contrastcolour, then nobody would be protesting. In all probability, it was organised by thoughtless city folk who behave like Americans in Baghdad when it comes to local consideration.
For the record, I'm a keen cyclist - but I despair at what passes for the encouragement of people to take up cycling.
I hope the cops give this the attention it deserves.
If he were alive today there's no way he'd tolerate such an imposition that allow thousands of cyclists to enjoy a grand day out and raise money for charity. He couldn't stomach Hitler and he wouldn't stomach that either.
Ah, welcome to small-minded Britain, where the car is kind and if you can't have exactly what you want RIGHT NOW, complain, or smack somebody in the face (or both).
Here in the Endless Mountains of northeast Pennsylvania, we are very, very, rural, and in winter the roads can be closed for, not hours, but days. Often the electricity is out and the phone lines are down at the same time (and despite evidence to the contrary, not everyone American has a cell phone).
Generally you cope when you're country. Surely that goes for the country folk of the U.K. as well as the U.S. This person with the tacks has got the wrong mindset for rural living if he/she can't handle being cut off for a measly few hours because roads have been closed (in a good cause I might add).
What a snarky, nasty, dangerous way to ruin a good day.
Those people manage with proper forward planning. But it seems some people are unable to plan for a few hours ahead...
Organisers and police need to work some PR magic on the locals, listen to their views and work with them to reach a solution. Sir Chris Hoy might be happy to go as an ambassador for the event.
Maybe some of these Outraged of Surrey types would like to explain to my aged in-laws why they should be confined to their homes for the best part of a day. In these parts there is no real alternative to the motor car for many people. No doubt same Outraged will be further exercised to learn that there was no local consultation as such, only considerable condescension from the Perth& Kinross authorities. Imagine that in Surrey!
If people wish to come and enjoy the beautiful countryside, why can't they enjoy a relaxed ride? Why do they have to make a race of it? Can't people enjoy the environment without some competition being involved? And what's in it for IMG? They only tied up with Macmillan a few weeks ago, presumably to make the event more difficult to criticise.
If they don't want to be confined to their homes for a few hours (not even in Scotland is three hours the best part of a day) then they could always plan to go into town and do their shopping, maybe have lunch in their favourite cafe, come back when the road is reopened, would that be such a hardship?
It's not a race, it IS a relaxed ride. It's the one day of the year the participants can relax while riding, secure in the knowledge that they're not about to be mown down by a speeding drunk who thinks having four wheels under him makes him so much more important than any other road user.
I hope the police are able to identify those responsible....All because their roads were closed for 3 hours once a year...not really a hardship.
Marty.
CHALFONT ST GILES