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(Almost) everyone loved having the super worlds in Scotland

Mostly positive reaction is good for the city's cycling future

13-08-2023 World Championships Elite Women; 2023, Danimarca; Ludwig, Cecilie Uttrup; Glasgow; Photo by: Sirotti
August 16, 2023
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After 11 days of racing in every cycling discipline, save for CX, Scots and Glaswegians were generally happy with the outcome. The inaugural event was the biggest UCI championships ever, with over 8,000 cyclists from 151 countries participating. Riders competed on the city’s velodrome, on the trails in Fort William and the roads from Edinburgh to Glasgow.

Great atmosphere in town

UCI chair Paul Bush said he was very happy with how everything went down, and he said that he hopes the positive reaction will result in more people cycling in Scotland. He said that the atmosphere with all of the fans watching the events reminded him of the last time a large sporting event took place there, nine years ago at the Commonwealth Games.

Build on the worlds

“Let’s seize that opportunity for the next five to ten years,” he said in an interview with the BBC. “It’s the first time I’ve seen this city come alive since 2014. We’ve had half a million people on the streets of this city over the last seven days smiling at free events, which is really important.”

Of course, someone gave Alison Jackson doughnuts on the road worlds climb

Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken echoed his statement, saying the 11 days of racing had been fantastic for the city, and that things went even better than most had expected.

“There is nowhere quite like Glasgow when it comes to creating an atmosphere and people who are ready to throw themselves into an event, heart and soul,” she said. The city added 415 km of cycling infrastructure, as well as dedicated bike lanes in the city, in preparation for the races.

Difficulties for people with mobility issues, as well as increased traffic

However, not everyone was thrilled with the super worlds. Ross Willcock, who is visually impaired and has mobility difficulties, said the organizers didn’t think ahead when it came to closing bus routes.

Mathieu van der Poel just broke the Internet on the road worlds course recon

“It is making me feel really trapped in my own street and my own house. I am getting flashbacks to what it was like under lockdown,” he said to the BBC. “I rely on a certain bus and I know where it stops. That has been moved. I am now very anxious. I have no idea where to get buses from. If you’re dependent on using certain routes you can’t just figure out a new route that quickly.”

Willcock wasn’t the only one who found the road closures to be difficult. Locals expressed difficulty with driving across town, as would be expected with so many connecting routes blocked off. On the first day of racing, Vicky Sandhu said she now knows what it is like living in a much bigger city.

“Cycling championships are held in Glasgow this year. Today was day 1. Loads of road closures, traffic is backed up on other routes, I experienced London traffic in my home town today. How do you London folk live like this,” she tweeted.

Despite some complaints, and an oversight when it comes to people with mobility issues, Aitken is positive that the worlds will have a positive effect on cycling in Glasgow. There are proposals in place that hope to facilitate access to any part of the city within a 30-minute bike ride.

“One of the big themes of this event has been the power of the bike, and I think these world championships have also resonated because they have given people an opportunity to rethink their ambitions for what our city can be,” Aitken concluded.