Riders taking part in a Scottish cycling race were thrashed with sticks by elderly men apparently furious at the local harvest being disrupted.
The attackers, thought to be in their 70s, were both dressed in tweed and flat caps and were said to be local farmers protesting at the road closures preventing them from getting between their fields during the harvest.
In footage posted online, the two pensioners appear in the middle of the road, brandishing sticks and try to stop the cyclists from passing, forcing them to slow down or stop.
“Two people that looked like farmers wearing tweed jackets and flat caps – one had a dog – were hitting the cyclists on their heads with long sticks,” one rider wrote on Facebook.
“I’m not too sure if anyone got hurt,” wrote another. “They were walking in the middle of road towards cyclists, each with two sticks holding them out. I had to stop, but hopefully nobody got hurt by them.”
That alleged incident, said race director Neil Dalgleish, marred what was otherwise an excellent day for the 2,000 riders who had travelled to take part in the event from as far afield as Australia, Canada, the US, Russia, Belgium and Switzerland.
He said: “Tour o’ the Borders was a fantastic success this year, and for once the weather was kind too. The riders had a fabulous time, and we’ve had countless thanks for the organisation, route quality, scenery and for all the friendly marshals and volunteers.
