Highland Perthshire contains some of Scotland’s most beautiful landscapes.
And spirited cyclists will get the chance to wind through its hills after Etape Caledonia released details of its brand new 55-mile competition route.
Returning to the county on May 14, the sportive challenge starts in Pitlochry and takes cyclists up a climb at Trinafour, before dropping down to Kinloch Rannoch, turning left and up Mount Schiehallion.
Continuing on the B846, participants will ride on closed roads through the picturesque villages of Coshieville and Weem, before heading through Grandtully and Ballinluig and back to the finish line in Pitlochry.
The new 55-route option also forms part of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships Gran Fondo, which has been announced for August, and has been dubbed “the perfect training ground” for club cyclists.
Etape organiser Limelight Sports Club has introduced the new route option to complement the two existing 40 and 85-mile routes.
Celebrating the UK’s original closed road cycling event’s 16th edition in 2023, Etape Caledonia is hoping to welcome up to 5000 riders to Pitlochry to tackle all three challenging routes.
Gary Willis, technical director at Limelight Sports Club, said: “The 40-mile route is hugely popular with cyclists, but we realised we needed to provide a more challenging option without cyclists having to commit to the much longer 85-mile route.
“A step up from the 40-mile route, the 55-mile route option takes on some meaty climbs and provides another option for cyclists to choose a route which is best suited to their abilities and their training goals.
“There has been significant interest in the 55-mile route option already since we launched it to Limelight Sport Club members, showing there is a pent-up demand.”
Craig Dews, CEO at Limelight Sports Club, said: “We’re delighted to be launching a new route option on this very established and popular closed road event.
“We are looking forward to welcoming back many participants to the area for this must-do event for cyclists, which provides the perfect opportunity to enjoy the beauty of Highland Perthshire in the Spring.
“The new 55-mile route option is an exciting addition to our existing popular 40-mile and 85-mile routes.
“We are confident this will provide a more challenging option for our more seasoned 40-mile route cyclists, giving them an opportunity to work towards taking on the 85-mile route.”
Registrations for Etape Caledonia are now open at www.etapecaledonia.co.uk
