Four deny halting UCI Cycling World Championships race by 'gluing themselves to tarmac'

Four protesters are to face trial accused of disrupting the UCI cycling world championships by glueing themselves to the race route in the Carron Valley in Stirlingshire.

Catriona Roberts, 21, Ben Taylor, 29, Romane Moulin, 26, and Rebecca Kerr, 28, are accused of committing a breach of the peace in the incident near the Carronbridge Hotel, Denny on Sunday, August 5.

They are said to have conducted themselves in a disorderly manner, sat on the road, the B818 then part of the route of a race in the UCI International Cycling World Championships, glued themselves to the tarmac, set off powder canons, blocked the race route, chained themselves together, refused to leave when requested, and caused the race to be halted.

At Falkirk Sheriff Court on Wednesday, Roberts, of Edinburgh; Taylor, of Kilbirnie in Ayrshire; and Moulin and Kerr, both Glasgow, pleaded not guilty to the single charge against them.

Prosecutor Karen Chambers did not oppose bail.

Sheriff Charles Lugton set a trial for November 8, with a pre-trial procedural hearing on October 23.

He released all four on bail, with a special condition banning them from attending any further events associated with the UCI International Cycling World Championships.

Sunday’s Men’s Elite Road Race at the World Championships paused with just over 190km (118 miles) of the 271km (168 miles) remaining on a narrow stretch of the B818 near the Carron Valley Reservoir.

More than 100 riders were forced to a halt on the single track route.

The race, which was won by Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel, was paused for about 50 minutes before restarting.

Environmental group This Is Rigged claimed responsibility for the demonstration and said four of its activists were involved.

They claimed it was sparked by the involvement of petrochemical giant INEOS as a sponsor of one of the teams competing in the event.

In a tweet they said: “The fact that INEOS has been allowed to sponsor a team in the race around the Campsie Fells, engulfed in wildfires last month, is an insult to the cycling community and people of Scotland.”

The stand-off unfolded during the 168-mile men’s elite road race between Edinburgh and Glasgow on the fourth day of the UCI World Cycling Championships.