GLASGOW — Sri Lanka's cycling team took to the open road for training at the Commonwealth Games but prompted a police response as they rode along one of Scotland's busiest motorways Wednesday. Four cyclists, wearing Sri Lankan team training jerseys, traveled along the M74, braving 70 mile per hour traffic and the wrath of Scottish police since bicycles are banned on motorways. They were spotted by English triathlete and Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee, who tweeted a picture of them. Police stopped the quartet near the exit for Motherwell and Hamilton after calls from concerned motorists and informed them that they were breaking the law. The incident echoed the exploits of the Kenyan team at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. They rode along the M61 from Manchester to Bolton twice before being stopped by police. Olympic silver medalist Fred Evans has been denied the chance to compete in the Games after his accreditation was refused. The Welsh welterweight has been told he will not be allowed to compete in Glasgow following checks by the Home Office Commonwealth Games officials. More than 4,500 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and territories will parade during the curtain-raiser. About 2,000 cast members will perform in a ceremony that organizers have promised “will surprise, delight and be uniquely Glaswegian and Scottish.” The Games will feature 17 sports in 11 days of competition, which begins Thursday. The closing ceremony takes place at Hampden Stadium, which has been transformed into an athletics venue, on Aug. 3 Teams will parade by region. At the start of each region the crowd will be shown video of some of the work that Unicef is doing in that part of the Commonwealth. At the end of the parade, athletes and team officials will be seated on the field of play, in the center of the show. The content of the show is secret but head of ceremonies and artistic director David Zolkwer promised it would have a distinct theme. “Our goal has always been to have the people of Glasgow and Scotland take center-stage, for them to speak and sing and dance for themselves,” he said. “So, on the night our audience will witness thousands of real people doing extraordinary things - and in the process I know our volunteer cast performers will do themselves, the city and Scotland proud.” — Agencies
