A FREE shuttle bus will take sports fans to the cycling world cup in Glasgow this weekend.

It will operate between Buchanan Bus Station and the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome at the Emirates Arena today, tomorrow and Sunday.

Some of the top names in track cycling will compete at the UCI Track World Cup, which sold out within minutes of tickets going on sale.

British Olympic stars Jason Kenny, Laura Trott, Jess Varnish and Ed Clancy will all be in competition.

Britain's greatest ever Olympian, Sir Chris Hoy, will also be attending to cheer on his team-mates as they battle it out in a variety of disciplines, including the team pursuit, sprint omnium, team sprint, individual pursuit and kierin.

Around 20,000 spectators are expected to attend the event.

The free buses will operate from stances 23 to 32 at the bus station on a circular service between 9.30am and 11pm today, from 8.30am until 11.30pm on Saturday and between 8am and 6.30pm on Sunday.

A Glasgow Life spokesman said: "The UCI Track World Cup is shaping up to be a truly world-class event.

"It will be the first international cycling competition at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, with thousands of fans expected to watch the action over the weekend.

"The free shuttle bus service will make a real difference to travelling fans and will minimise the strain on the public transport network."

vivienne.nicoll@ eveningtimes.co.uk