North Lanarkshire will have a starring role in the Games when the cycling time trial race takes in the area as part of its route in July next year.The course, which is 40km for men and 30km for women, will begin at Glasgow Green and will go through North Lanarkshire north of the A80, through Muirhead, Moodiesburn and Stepps.Paul Jukes, executive director of environmental services, said: "The council is delighted to be hosting part of the cycling time trial race, as well as the triathlon event at Strathclyde Park, as part of the 2014 Commonwealth Games."This is a unique opportunity for local residents to enjoy a world class sports event on their doorstep and to promote North Lanarkshire to a world-wide audience."North Lanarkshire will benefit from the Games coming to Glasgow, with thousands of visitors staying in the area and these two events will be a boost for the local economy."The road race will be the second event in the 2014 Games that North Lanarkshire will be involved in, with the triathlon being held at Strathclyde Park."The Organising Committee has been in contact with potential stakeholders to discuss the opportunity to work together regarding the time trial course however details have yet to be finalised."A stadium with a seating capacity of just 2000 was half-empty for the duration of the event from the vision we saw on Cycling Central's live coverage.It was disappointing to watch and certainly failed to send a strong message at a time when track cycling is struggling to draw international interest outside of the Olympic Games.Now Belarus has never been a traditional cycling nation from what I can tell. So with this in mind, why does the UCI offer the rights for a city to host a world cycling championship if they can’t guarantee filling the joint?Cast your mind back to Melbourne last year, when the Hisense Arena was rocking to the core.A 5000-seat velodrome bursting at the seams with noise and colour was more like being at a 50,000 seater at a major game of football.And what about the tens of thousands who braved the freezing weather at Louisville, Kentucky for last month’s Cyclocross World Championships? Every session at every event was sold out and the cowbells were ringing loudly.This brings me to the general media coverage, or lack thereof, from Minsk.While the front pages of some of Britain’s newspapers paid tribute to their gold medal-winning riders, the Australian print media seemed more obsessed by the latest chapter in the spiralling lives of Lance Armstrong and Oscar Pistorious and a poolful of Stilnox addled swimmers.There were so many great yarns to be told in Minsk, the highlight being Martyn Irvine’s two medals in 60 minutes which earned Ireland its first gold in 117 years at world championship level.Perhaps Australia’s lethargic attitude towards the worlds was best summed up by the reaction from Michael Hepburn’s gold-medal ride in the individual pursuit.A member of the pursuit team, which also won gold 24-hours earlier, Hepburn crossed the line triumphant but from my observation didn’t really show the excitement or enthusiasm of a newly-crowned world champion.Compare this to the British contingent, who were always thrilled at winning anything and everything, that feeling of success seemed lost on some of our heroes.The Colombian city of Cali will host the 2014 UCI Track World Championships, so let’s hope the South Americans do a better job at adding some panache to an event deserving of worldwide recognition. But I won't be holding my breath.A repeat of Minsk is perhaps more likely in a country where the world game of football rules and obtaining media space for any other sport apart from football is almost impossible.