Five climate protesters charged for halting UCI World Championships elite road race near Falkirk

Five people have been charged after disrupting the UCI World Cycling Championships by glueing themselves to the road near Falkirk.

The men’s elite road race was halted for almost an hour when climate activists halted proceedings near the Carron Valley Reservoir on Sunday afternoon.

Protest group This is Rigged claimed responsibility for the demonstration, stating it was opposing oil and gas giant INEOS’ sponsorship of one of the participating teams.

Police Scotland said it took 55 minutes for the force’s “protest removal team” to clear the route before the race was allowed to restart shortly after 12.15pm.

Eilidh McFadden and Catriona Roberts, both 21, Romaine Moulin, 25, Iain Kerr, who identifies as Rebecca, 28 and Ben Taylor, 29 are due to appear at Falkirk Sheriff Court on Monday.

BREAKING: THIS IS RIGGED DISRUPT THE UCI CYCLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 🚲

4 people with This Is Rigged have blocked the road, halting the Men's Elite Race at the Cycling World Championships this morning. They remain on the road with the race unable to continue for the last 40 min. pic.twitter.com/8sbuoaiocm
— This Is Rigged (@Thisis_Rigged) August 6, 2023

In a statement, the group also called on the Scottish Government to reject any new applications for oil and gas extraction licences in the North Sea.

Dutch rider Mathieu Van Der Poel survived a late crash to win the race when it crossed the finish line in Glasgow.

He slipped on a right-hand corner a little over 16 kilometres from the end of the 271km race, but quickly remounted and continued to put time into a chasing group of Wout Van Aert, Tadej Pogacar and former world champion Mads Pedersen.