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Etape Loch Ness logoMonster interest sees Etape Loch Ness sell out in hours
A closed-road sportive that makes its debut next year in one of Britain’s most spectacular locations – the shores of Loch Ness – has proved such a draw that organisers filled all 1,000 places within hours of entries opening on Thursday.
The inaugural 107km Etape Loch Ness will take place on Sunday 4 May 2014 in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.
The route, which starts and finishes in Inverness, takes riders along the A82 on the north shore of the loch past Drumnadrochit, Invermoriston and Fort Augustus.
Riders will return to the Highland capital along the quieter south shore on General Wade’s Military Road, built in the wake of the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion.
Event director Malcolm Sutherland told BBC News Highlands & Islands: "Road cycling in the UK is undergoing an incredible resurgence and that's largely down to the success in recent years for British cyclists competing on the international stage.
"I've long held the belief that Loch Ness would be the perfect venue for an iconic and professionally-organised road cycling event that appeals to experienced and novice cyclists from both the UK and overseas.
"It feels like the time is right to launch such an event, and all the signs are pointing towards it being hugely popular," he added.
Those lucky enough to have secured a place will have the opportunity to compete for a King of the Mountains prize shortly after the route passes Fort Augustus and swings back towards Inverness – there’s a 9km climb with a height gain of 380m and a gradient that hits 12 per cent.
Partial or full road closures will take place along the length of the route.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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17 comments
Some people are just never happy.
Sold out straight away?! How do you hear about such things?
I certainly don't agree with it, but not uncommon for local CC members to use a sportive in their backyard as an unofficial race, bragging rights etc.
Hmm, my KOM on the western side of the loch might be in jeopardy... I suspect the only reason I've got it in the first place is cos it's only been ridden by a couple of hundred people!
£500 on flights? I booked me and the bike on the sleeper train to inverness a few years back and then circumnavigated the loch (clockwise) after a good breakfast in a mall opposite the station, because I booked in advance I got the berth for less than £50.
Had I known about the event I might well have done the same again.
I'd like to see the interest in putting on an "Etape" from Tomintoul to Montrose....Over the Lecht and Cairn O'Mount....THAT's a proper challenge and no need to close the roads http://goo.gl/maps/wDFJ2
Over two of the highest passes in Scotland
For your delectation I offer the Wildcat Grimpeur:
http://www.mapmyride.com/gb/kirriemuir-sct/wildcat-grimpeur-route-160540148
The route of the Snow Roads is good as well:
http://www.mapmyride.com/gb/kirriemuir-sct/snow-roads-300km-audax-route-...
Sign up at Audax UK, select DIY by GPS, nominate a date and get it ridden.
I warmly welcome this event and wish all that have entered a great time. The crowds of locals up around Inverness are superb - I ran a 10k and my wife ran the Loch Ness Marathon accompanied by hundreds of cheering locals cheering you on it was a fantastic atmosphere!
In marked contrast running Aberdeen City's 10k - where you run through the industrial harbour (red light) area to be confronted by the odd spectator who looks like you are something they've just scraped off your shoe out of their cold dead zombie eyes…
For me - as its a dead flat course its not "interesting" enough but I'm sure there will be plenty who want to set a good time trial time. For the rest of us there's the opportunity of riding the Snow Roads or Wildcat Grimpeur in our own time at much reduced cost.
Dead flat apart from that KOM climb with the 380m height gain...
Spent the first few years of my life in Highland/Grampian though so I know how easy it is to get used to having all those mountains around
Clearly 1,000 people were wrong.
Seems to me that there is no shortage of quiet-ish, rural roads in Scotland. Why you would want to ride the largely flat and boring A82 around Loch Ness is an utter mystery to me, especially at a cost of £50. You don't need much imagination to discover *way* more interesting routes in that locality. The 'fame' of said location is not justified IMHO. Visually Loch Ness is about as ordinary as any long flat stretch of water in Scotland can be.
My thoughts aswell.
Stick Etape infront of a place name and you will get a bunch of people wanting to ride there, without even knowing the place.
As you say, its not a challenge around that road at all.
If I were to go up there it would cost me probably at least ~£500 in flights, transfers, accommodation, food etc not counting time off work. £55 to *guarantee* a good and above all safe time is money damn well-spent, IMHO.
Impacts on locals will have been considered in the closure process, by councils and police. Let's trust them to have got it right.
Noting: the first leg is not a totally closed road - there will be oncoming traffic between Inverness & Fort Augustus. The second leg back home is fully closed. And there's a 13MPH minimum pace, so 2 1/2hrs max for the first half. Starting at 0630 in 2min waves, even if it's only 20 per wave everyone will be off the main road and reopened to two-way traffic by 11am. Hardly a major issue?
Now I could understand if local's went mad about this route being closed off. This is a MASSIVE tourist attraction and they are blocking off the only route around the loch....
This is just a cash cow now. £55 to ride that route is a piss take
I agree, but it's supply and demand. They've worked out how much people people will fork out...and been proved right. Anyone with any sense who wanted to ride around Loch Ness would just get a bunch of mates together and go and do it.
Hmmm, I was reading an old thread in the City of Inverness CC website at the weekend about this event, and they seemed well up for it, even though they could ride the route any time. I'd give a link, but the site's down for maintenance.
That's interesting...clearly the locals will know more than me so maybe i'm missing something? I'm not against Sportives in general, this one just seems a bit pricey to me, as if simply the name Loch Ness has served to bump up the price.
Lots of folk local to Inverness disappointed not to get a place before entries were closed. Yes, we could ride that route any time, but it includes the only stretch of road in the Highlands I won't cycle on (because of the traffic conditions), and several stretches that make for unpleasant cycling amongst the coaches and vans.
Fifty five quid may seem a lot. But turn that into salaries for the organisers and I bet they won't make a profit this year. I'm guessing it's a gamble on success. Profits will come when they accept 5000 entries a few years down the road.