Games no-go for cycle stars

TOP cyclists Ben Swift and Russell Downing have both turned their backs on the Commonwealth Games\_amid fears over health and safety.

And the Team Sky star Swift yesterday told the Advertiser: “I don’t really want to be riding anywhere when there’s a helicoper carrying a sniper above us.”

The Rotherham riders, both potential medal winners, were among five cyclists who refused to travel to Delhi for the problem-wracked games, which got under way this week.

Swift had suffered problems in the build-up to Delhi when a virus caused him to witht1draw from the big Vuelta De Espania and he was then injured in a heavy crash at the British Track Championships in Manchester.

But the 22-year-old says he wouldn’t have travelled to India anyway after road-race cyclists, including Olympic champion Geraint Thomas, voiced their concerns, saying there were too many risks involved.

Said Swift: “There was a lot of concern over hygiene and safety and before my injury I was worried about going."