THE LOCH NESS CYCLE SPORTIF  

Date:                             17th August 2008 at 0700hrs

Start & Finish:               Highland Rugby Club

                                     Bught Park, Inverness

A rolling start will operate which will takes cyclists to the Dores roundabout following an official event vehicle. Timing will  start/finish from the roundabout.

Distance:                      100 km

Total Height Climbed:    1080m ascent

Registration:                 Bught Park, HighlandRugbyClubhouse 

The Route:

Starting on Bught Road, at the Highland Rugby Clubhouse, the new road bike route follows Bught Road, past the Ness islands, along Ness Walk and Bishops Road to cross the river Ness at the Ness Bridge opposite the Castle. The route then passes the Inverness Town house before turning right on Castle Street and descending via Haugh Road to Island Bank and then Dores Road. The official timed start is just past the Holm roundabout (a neutralised zone is required to take participants from Bught Park to Holm roundabout).

             CLICK HERE FOR ROUTE PROFILE

The 9 miles to Dores along the rolling B862, will give riders time to warm up before they get their fist panoramic view of Loch Ness and the first climb of the day, up Dores hill to a height of 250m. Passing Loch Duntelchaig and Loch Ceo Glais, the route then drops to Torness, and rolls on to the small village of Errogie. Passing alongside Loch Mhor and then through Whitebridge, a long steady climb up to the Cairn at 1200 feet, marks the heighest point in the course. The swooping descent down to Fort Augustus is not for the feint hearted and caution must be taken in the tight bends. The halfway mark is the old General Wade settlement of Fort Augustus.

Turning around at the Fort, riders will enjoy the 1200 foot climb from a different perspective, as they tackle this killer climb from the South, to return to the Cairn and viewpoint at the top of the General's road. After that it is a breeze back down through Whitebridge, before reaching the Falls of Foyers. From Foyers the route continues along the South side of Loch Ness passing Inverfarigaig, with views back to Urquhart Castle. The road then undulates along the south shores until Dores ending with a 9 mile sprint back to Inverness, and the timed finish at the Holm Roundabout.

Entering Inverness along Island Bank Road the route crosses the River Ness under the gaze of Inverness Castle. The home straight along the River takes you back to the Bught Park passing Inverness Cathedral which was built in 1869.