The Edinburgh Reporter April 2023

Exclusive by SUSAN EGELSTAFF

FROM THE MOMENT Scotland was revealed

as host for the inaugural Cycling World

Championships, David Lappartient, the

President of the sport’s global governing body,

the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI),

knew Edinburgh had to be involved as one of

the key venues.

Traditionally, each discipline has held its own,

individual world championships. Until now.

Over eleven thrilling days in August, around

2,800 riders from over 170 nations will compete

for more than 200 gold medals in what will be

the first World Championships in which 13

cycling disciplines will combine their individual

World Championships for the biggest cycling

event the world has ever seen.

Glasgow may be playing host to the majority

of the disciplines included in this mega-event,

but Edinburgh is by no means being left out.

The city has the privilege of hosting one of the

blue riband events of the entire championships

• the men’s road race. The starting point for the
  race will, by anyone’s standards, be stunning.
  The field with the very best male road riders
  on the planet, will line up at Arthur’s Seat as the
  riders prepare to battle for gold over a 277.6km
  route that will enable the peloton to head west

from Edinburgh through Fife and Stirling before

concluding with ten laps of Glasgow, across the

finish line in George Square.

While Glasgow is billed as the primary host of

these World Championships, Lappartient has,

from the very early planning stages of this event,

been adamant that as many cities and towns

must be involved in these Championships, with

Edinburgh at the top of the list to play a part.

The 49-year-old Frenchman, who was elected

as a member of the International Olympic

Committee, visited Edinburgh last month to

check on the progress with the preparations. He

was delighted with what he saw which has, he

believes, vindicated his decision to include cities

outwith Glasgow in this extraordinary event.

Lappartient said: “From the very first

discussions we had with The Scottish

Government and with Glasgow, we all

wanted, together, to ensure that the

event went all across Scotland. This

country has some absolutely

wonderful landscapes and iconic

scenery and we wanted to use as

much of it as we possibly could.

“Cycling is unique in that with so

many disciplines, it’s the perfect

sport to showcase a

country and from the

very beginning, we knew we’d have a significant

proportion, maybe 50 percent, in Glasgow but

we also wanted to use all the cities and regions

across Scotland.

“Having the men’s road race start in

Edinburgh is very important and will be a

fantastic way to show off the city along with the

world’s best road riders. So this event will not

only be a big thing for Glasgow, it’ll be a massive

thing for the whole of Scotland and Edinburgh

will play a huge part in that. And we’re sure the

capital will do a fantastic job.”

These Championships may be focused on

crowning new world champions but Lappartient

is hopeful the benefits of what he calls a “festival

of cycling” will be felt by the Scottish public.

He said: “These World Championships will

see the best elite riders in the world race

for gold medals but also, the goal is to

get more people across the country

riding their bike.

“Cycling is a sport which has so

many different strands to it; bikes are

for transportation, bikes are for leisure

and bikes are for competition.

“There are so many ways to use your

bike and I hope the Scottish

public see that and

embrace it.”

22 SPORT

Capital involvement

Hibs champions of sustainability on and off pitch

Scotland to host Cycling World Championships with Edinburgh set to play a part

Easter Saturday

at Musselburgh

Xyyyyyyyy

By JOHN HISLOP

HIBS WON THE ‘Sports Green Hero’

prize at the Green Hearts Hero Awards

in London for the club’s contribution

to championing sustainability both on

and off the pitch.

The awards celebrate the business,

communities, individuals and unsung

heroes helping to create a greener,

cleaner world for everyone and tackle

climate change.

Hibs were nominated by local MP

for Edinburgh East Tommy Sheppard

who said: “I’m proud to be the MP for

Hibs and it’s great to see the club

getting the recognition it deserves

for its leading role in reducing

carbon emissions and tackling

climate change.

“Hibs has from its founding been a

club with a strong social conscience

and this tradition continues to flourish.

The first to wear the green and now

the Sports Green Hero award winners.”

The club has been recognised for

their recent efforts to tackle climate

change and reduce their carbon

footprint with initiatives that include

using 100% renewable energy with

the installation of solar panels at the

Training Ground and Easter Road

Stadium, introducing meat-free kiosks

for supporters and reducing food

waste on matchdays. The Joma kits are

made from entirely recycled materials

and the club has transitioned to using

electric vehicles with charging stations

installed at the Stadium.Hibs are also

the first Scottish Football Club to^

sign up for the Sports for Climate

Action Framework.

Head of Commercial, Murray

Milligen said: “We are honoured to

receive the ‘Sports Green Hero Award’,

it’s great to see some recognition for

the club’s continued efforts to reduce

our carbon footprint. The club has a

responsibility to champion

sustainability and I’m sure we can

continue to lead the way in Scotland

and educate our community and

wider audience on the importance of

these environmental issues. We are

working with a number of commercial

partners who are helping us on this

journey and I would particularly like to

thank our friends at Environmental

Waste Controls (EWC) who have

played a big part in helping us.”

By STAFF REPORTER

MUSSELBURGH Racecourse gets its

Flat season underway on 8 April with

the Tote Easter Saturday Race Day.

With more than £225,000 in prize

money, feature race of the day is the

£100,000 Queen’s Cup, the East Lothian

track’s highest value contest of the year.

The highly competitive seven race

card also includes the Royal Mile

Handicap, the Silver Arrow Handicap,

and Scotland’s fastest horse race, the

£45,000 Scottish Sprint Cup, featuring

some of the UK’s quickest sprinters

over five furlongs.

Gordon Brown, Race Reporter for

Scottish Racing, said: “Some of the

fastest horses in the country have

scorched to victory in the Scottish Sprint

Cup with the runners galloping quicker

than the legal speed limit on the

adjacent road into Musselburgh town

“The five-furlong track record was

smashed in this very race in 2018 when

Alastair Rawlinson-partnered ‘Caspian

Prince’ stopped the clock at an

electrifying 56.77 seconds.

“Last year’s impressive winner of the

prestigious Queen’s Cup was Ian

Williams-trained horse ‘Enemy’, who has

since just been pipped in a contest at

Ascot, won a race at the Dubai Carnival

and picked up a staggering £416,666 for

finishing a close second at Riyadh in

Saudi Arabia.”

For more information and to book tickers

DavidLappartient visit http://www.musselburgh-racecourse.co.uk