Two men have now been charged over an incident at a sportive. The farmers said they were protesting about cyclists closing the roads, but some cyclists alleged it went further.
Two men charged after alleged assault on sportive cyclists
Two men have been charged over an incident where cyclists alleged they were attacked with sticks during a sportive. The incident occurred at the Tour o’ The Borders sportive last September.
And now the BBC has reported that two men, aged 60 and 71 years, have been charged over allegations from cyclists at the time.
A police investigation began after the incident last year in the UK. Some of those involved said they were protesting at the way the sportive took over the roads at harvest time.
“Four of us organised it. I was the ringleader,” said one man at the time. “We waited until the police bike and tour car had gone round.
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“We blocked off the road and had draining rods in our hands. But they were basically touching the ground so we weren’t appearing violent.
"It was meant to be a peaceful demonstration so they would stop and we could have dialogue.”
He said that he and those he was with shouted at the cyclists that they were pedestrians. But the riders pushed through the effort to block the road.
“Two of us got shoulder-barged and I got grabbed. So I shouted back at the guy who I could only describe as a bearded hooligan.”
He added motorists were “held up” on a daily basis by cyclists. And the blocking of roads in his area for the sportive was unacceptable.
“They get the police to monitor the event and it’s basically a waste of police time,” he said, adding junctions that should take two lorries side by side were closed.
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