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etape-caledonia-2016-5Row reignites over Etape Caledonia course, with claims villagers will be “cut off”
With mass participation events cancelled across the board in the past year or so due to the coronavirus pandemic, here’s a story that really is a blast from the past – a row over the routing of a closed road sportive, in this case the Etape Caledonia.
Pre-pandemic, stories about such rows appeared regularly here on road.cc, including ones relating to Velo Birmingham & Midlands and the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100, among others.
There’s no way of predicting right now whether the situation in Scotland, come this spring, will enable the Etape Caledonia to go ahead, with or without tweaks such as restricting group numbers in response to regulations in force by then.
But organisers of that and other events of course need to work on the assumption, for now, that they will – which reignites an argument about part of the Etape Caledonia course that has been ongoing for four years but lay dormant for the past 12 months due to the coronavirus crisis, with last year’s edition cancelled.
Scheduled for Sunday 16 May, the event should see up to 5,000 riders tackling routes of either 40 or 85 miles, both starting and finishing in Pitlochry in Perth & Kinross.
The longer route includes a small loop out to Glenlyon House, shown in the map below at around the 60-mile mark.
The Courier reports that local residents had been hoping for the event to be re-routed following last year’s enforced break – but organisers Limelight Sports say that it will continue to follow the roads used in previous editions.
According to Susan Dolan-Betney, chairwoman of Glenlyon and Loch Tay Community Council, the loop “means that Glenlyon is completely cut off from the eastern end by the road closure.
“This leaves the only access via the narrow, remote hill road from Bridge of Balgie to Edramuchty on the A827, which in May can still be covered in snow and ice.
“Apart from a very few cycling enthusiasts it is viewed by the local community as an imposition with a lot of disruption and no benefits,” she insisted.
“It prevents people getting to or from holiday cottages; the Café at Bridge of Balgie and the Studio close and lose a day’s business because it isn’t worth opening.
“It is disruptive to farmers and estate owners,” she added.
However, a spokesperson for the event, which Limelight Sports took over from 2019 from sports marketing giant IMG, confirmed there would be no changes, saying: “The 2021 route will be the same as 2019 but they are, of course, following all Scottish Government and Perth and Kinross guidance and will update participants and residents if there are any Covid related changes that they need to make.”
> New organisers for Etape Caledonia
Standard entries for May’s event are sold out, although there are still places for a premium place on the 85-mile route option, priced at £140, with full details here.
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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9 comments
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.
It's pretty remote around there. Probably one of the few places I've been in the UK where a closed road sportive would work. Having said that you would probably have a much better event that wasn't closed road but went North from Pitlochry and cost less. £140 is a lot to miss out on the incredible scenery up that way. Agree it will probably be cancelled
...And don't give 'em a penny. You won't get it back when they cancel. I doubt that they'll be able to insure against a pandemic that has already started...
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!
Do the organisers donate or pay something to the local council for the event?
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.