‘It was terrifying’: swooping magpies alarm world road championship cyclists

There is a sign in Lang Park, near the beach in Wollongong, with a warning for passers-by. “Birds swooping!” it reads. “Dismount and walk your bike through this area. Magpies are nesting in this area.” The organisers of the 2022 UCI Road World Championships, which began on Sunday and run all week, must have missed the memo. The finish-line for the race is right near the sign, and magpies have been causing chaos for the world’s best cyclists.

“I’ve been swooped twice already since being here,” Australian rider Grace Brown, who won silver in the women’s time trial on Sunday, told Guardian Australia. “So it’s not just the international athletes that are worried about it. I get pretty scared by magpies.”

Cyclists are accustomed to danger while out riding. The nature of the sport, taking place in an uncontrolled environment, means that on-road hazards can send riders flying – roundabouts, signage and raised drainage holes have all caused crashes in the past. A collision between the peloton and a motorbike caused chaos at the 2016 edition of Tour de France, while riders were forced to dodge cows on the road a year before.

But the 1,000-strong international peloton, from 70 countries, have been taken aback by the aerial dangers in Wollongong. Although the World Tour does include an Australian leg, in January each year, this is the first time in over a decade the world championships have been staged on these shores during swooping season (between August and October). A small percentage of male magpies swoop during breeding season, to protest chicks in the nest.

Magpies are a real concern at #Wollongong2022. Grace Brown told me she’d been swooped twice during training rides. @UCI_cycling obviously didn’t get this memo - posted