Row reignites over Etape Caledonia course, with claims villagers will be “cut off”

spen wrote:

Can anyone explain why this need sto be on closed roads?  The roads don't look to be heavily used.  The Fred Whitton manages with only the section btween Little and Great langdale closed.  Why is this different?

The simple reason, it's a selling point for them and they hook charities on the back of it. It doesn't need to be closed roads at all.

I work for another sportive that uses part of that route, we finish day one in Pitlochry and start day two in the same location. Tour of the Highlands. We have no problems with the local population at all, never had issues in all the years it's been running. Etapes on the other hand aren't run for the enjoyment of cyclists, they are run to make someone money.

There was one on my doorstep which I encouraged the locals to "see off" Etape Royale. I actively helped them get rid of it after one year. For someone who makes their living in cycling, it wasn't easy to say, but close roads should only ever been for professional races. Even then, most run on rolling roadblocks. There is no need in the height of summer to be blocking up tourist routes for a ride.

Gkam84 wrote:

spen wrote:

Can anyone explain why this need sto be on closed roads?  The roads don't look to be heavily used.  The Fred Whitton manages with only the section btween Little and Great langdale closed.  Why is this different?

The simple reason, it's a selling point for them and they hook charities on the back of it. It doesn't need to be closed roads at all.

I work for another sportive that uses part of that route, we finish day one in Pitlochry and start day two in the same location. Tour of the Highlands. We have no problems with the local population at all, never had issues in all the years it's been running. Etapes on the other hand aren't run for the enjoyment of cyclists, they are run to make someone money.

There was one on my doorstep which I encouraged the locals to "see off" Etape Royale. I actively helped them get rid of it after one year. For someone who makes their living in cycling, it wasn't easy to say, but close roads should only ever been for professional races. Even then, most run on rolling roadblocks. There is no need in the height of summer to be blocking up tourist routes for a ride.

What an interesting take on this subject.

I am not a fan of the 'super sportif' who seem to charge £100 as defacto for closed roads and not much else different..  On the continent £60 gets you a big organised sportif and a jersey in most cases. I'd be interested in hearing more about this topic from you.

Chris Hayes wrote:

I wonder what the villagers are worried about. This ride will never happen.  Scotland will still be in lockdown on 16th May... Are they complaining about that? No, they are complaining about the mortal enemy: cyclists...

They are not complaining about cyclists per se but about roads being closed off and denying them normal access to businesses etc. Actual inconvenience and lost business is something justifiable to complain about, no matter the cause of the closures -- don't be so sensitive!

Don't know about that, but there is generally a lot of support up there for the Etape. It's a place where the tourist industry dominates, but May is a quiet time of year for tourists, so they welcome the visitors it brings.

I remember going there shortly after the carpet tack incident, and there were a lot of pro-cycling posters in the windows of shops in Pitlochry.

There are of course the Scottish Royston Vasey types, but there are also genuine concerns about being effectively trapped by road closures.