Glasgow Cyclist Calls Attention to Shockingly Bad Conditions on Road Worlds Course

Glasgow-based cyclist Liam McReanan made headlines this week when he shared a few photos of the road conditions that riders will be tackling come August for UCI Road World Championships. In his tweet, he called on the president of the UCI to fix the roads before cyclists find themselves in dangerous circumstances.

“Glasgow 2023 may be remembered for all the wrong reasons. With 6 months to go this is the state of the roads for the Elite Men and Women,” he wrote, sharing these photos:

He added that the “UK has some of the worst roads in Western Europe. The roads around Glasgow some of the worst in UK. These roads have been like this for years, decades. Kilometre after kilometre, the whole course is like this. Very dangerous in a peloton. Is there enough time/money to fix them?” (Unfortunately, he also cited a recent BBC article that showed Scotland’s budget crunch will leave no money for road improvements in the foreseeable future.)

While it’s rare that road conditions are pristine for races, even world championships, the state of these roads is appalling. And bad weather could certainly make them worse: Looking back to 2019, where a rainy day caused huge puddles and crashes on the time trial course in Yorkshire, it’s easy to see how poorly maintained roads can be dangerous for cyclists riding for their shot at glory.

Back in 2019 after that disastrous race, the UCI paid lip service towards the idea of improving rider conditions: “The safety of cyclists is an absolute priority,” said David Lappartient, president of the UCI, said at the time. “We have already done much to improve race conditions for riders, although recent events have reminded us that we can never rest on our laurels.”

However, there are still plenty of arguably preventable unsafe situations that happen in road races. Great Britain has had a bad run of dangerous courses: the Women’s Tour last year saw a dangerous finish thanks to poorly placed metal barricades, prompting more discussions around cyclist safety.

Still, there are six months until Road Worlds will take place, so hopefully the flurry of media attention around the course conditions now will prompt some road improvements between now and then... Or some intrepid cycling fans may sneak onto the course and start making stealth improvements on their own. While we don’t necessarily condone that type of DIY-road fixing, it has become more popular amongst the cycling population in recent years after so many frustrations trying to get municipalities to improve roads.

Considering a pothole in Los Angeles netted one cyclist a $6.5 million payout from the city, it may be in the city’s best interest to get those potholes filled before race day.

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