GLASGOW was given a taste of next year's Commonwealth Games as dozens of city-centre roads were brought to a standstill by a major cycling event.
Streets in the centre were barricaded off, bus routes were diverted and motorists were forced to take detours of several miles after the British National Road Race Championships arrived in town yesterday.
Leading cyclists taking part included Mark Cavendish, who won the men's event; Scots-born David Millar, who was third; and Lizzie Armitstead, the women's event winner.
The closures irritated motorists, who suffered no fewer than 129 separate road closures.
The race, one of the most prestigious in the cycling calendar, saw riders complete 13 laps of a course of about eight minutes in a loop from Glasgow Green. It meant streets had to be barricaded off from early morning.
Many of the main arteries running north to south were closed, with diversions leading away from the race but not offering alternative routes for drivers.
Glasgow City Council leader Councillor Gordon Matheson, said the event gave "a hint of the atmosphere there is going to be in this city for the Commonwealth Games next summer."
More than 30,000 people watched the event and Mr Matheson added: "The atmosphere has been electric. I had the opportunity to be driven around the course in one of the cars in the race convoy behind the group with Cavendish. The city is looking magnificent. It was truly exhilarating.
"The crowds were lifting the cyclists as they went past. I would predict that 90% of those witnessing this today, like me, have never experienced a race like this before."
Among those watching the race were Paul Leahy, 39, and his daughter Erin, 12.
"We are here today to see David Millar and Mark Cavendish," said Mr Leahy. "My heart was thumping as they came past: it's so exciting to see them race. It's amazing to have an event like this here in Glasgow." Steven Fraser, 41, from Kilmarnock, was there with his wife and two children.
"I'm a huge cycling fan – our whole family is," he said. "It's was drizzly earlier but we don't mind the rain; we are from Scotland and waterproof. It's fantastic to see such a high-calibre field in Glasgow. We were in Stewarton in East Ayrshire for the time trial on Thursday. It's been a great few days."
Nicky Steadman, 31, a shop assistant, and Kimberley McMurray, 25, an office worker, both from Cumbernauld, were also soaking up the big race atmosphere.
"I grew up watching the Tour de France on television so it's been brilliant to see pro cyclists up close like this," said Mr Steadman.
A spokesman for Police Scotland said there were no arrests in the city related to the race and traffic flow in Glasgow was managed by a pre-arranged plan.
He added: "There were slight issues due to part of the city being closed off but there was nothing unusual. It all went according to the traffic management plan."
A council spokesman said: "The British Cycling Road Race Championships was a huge success, with 30,000 people turning out to cheer on Britain's elite cyclists.
"Staging an event of this scale inevitably involved the introduction of traffic management measures.
"While we hoped to keep disruption to a minimum, road closures were required to ensure the safety of cyclists and spectators."
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