TOP cyclists racing through city streets during the European Championships dealt with dozens of punctures on the course - which has now been compared to the notorious Paris-Roubaix race.

Former Olympic champion Chris Boardman spoke on the BBC of the 'unbelievable' number of punctures during Sunday’s men’s cycling road race which attracted 136 riders from across the world.

Boardman, who wore the yellow jersey on three separate occasions at the Tour De France, compared the Glasgow circuit to the notoriously tough Paris-Roubaix race, where riders pass through rough, cobbled farm roads, and at one stage expressed concern that the high number of punctures would see the riders use up all the spare bike wheels.

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He said on the BBC: “Unbelievable amount of punctures. It is a long time since I have actually seen this. They are going to run out of wheels at this rate.”

He later said: “We’ve seen so many issues so far in this race, it is hard to keep up with them. Stopped listing them now. I think we’ve seen at least between four and six punctures every lap so far.”

While his co-host Simon Brotherton added: “As soon as you hear ‘service required’ from one of the teams you can pretty much guarantee it’s a puncture and a wheel change that is required.”

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Former British Champion Ian Stannard also spoke of the tough conditions after the race.

He said: "There's a lot of potholes and drain covers and everything's been washed into the road, so it's pretty difficult."

City cyclists and Glaswegians, who watched the event, took to social media to express the same opinion on the road conditions they experience in Glasgow.

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David Brown said: "Puncture-fest at the European Championships road race. A great advert for Glasgow's s****y tarmac and potholes."

Another joked: "Bike shops of Glasgow! Gather your wheels and stand outside your establishment with them held aloft, should a pro-cyclist be passing and puncture."

Another Twitter user said: "No amount of craftily placed grip tape or emergency pothole filling can disguise how bad Glasgow city centre is for cycling, no surprise this is a puncture fest."

The number of punctures recorded was held by each individual team . It is, however, thought that there was as many as 100 punctures during the event which saw only 50 riders reach the finish line.

A Glasgow 2018 spokesman said: “Before the races take place the roads are swept throughout the night and also at 8am in the morning, this happened as usual in preparation for all races.

“The technical officials were content and no issues were raised from within the field.”

What is your view? Contact stacey.mullen@heraldandtimes.co.uk