Suidhe climb is ‘best bit’ of challenging Etape Loch Ness
ACTIVE OUTDOORS: John Davidson completed his 10th Etape Loch Ness at the weekend as the cycle sportive returned to Inverness
I never tire of riding on the closed roads around Loch Ness every year, despite the tiring nature of the 66-mile ride.
The 3000ft of ascent on the course makes it a real challenge, but there’s always a point during the day when I realise that this is a rare privilege granted to us by the organisers of the race, and the communities around the loch.
Most of us would never do this route when the roads are fully open, particularly the A82, so it’s a joy to pedal down to Fort Augustus on the trunk road without having to worry about motorised traffic.
With up to 6000 cyclists now taking part in the Etape each year, however, it still demands care and good communication with fellow riders as you travel on the roads.
This was my tenth year taking part in the event – after missing out on one event in 2018 – and the course is very familiar now, which is a real advantage. There was the usual banter and camaraderie between participants from near and far, with people taking part from more than 20 countries this time round.
My brother Alan had travelled up from England to take part for the first time, along with my friend Jim Sutherland who stays in Grantown. Both of them thoroughly enjoyed the occasion and the excellent atmosphere at the event hub.
Conditions were pretty mixed, with a fairly warm and dry start in the early morning, which gave way to showers and thick cloud by the time we reached Fort Augustus. I laughed when I overheard one rider say to his group that he was now “less optimistic” about his certainty from the night before that it wasn’t going to rain!
I struggled a bit as we headed towards Invermoriston, not just with the headwind but because my hamstring started to tighten quite badly. I feared for a good few miles that I might have to pull out or at least walk much of the King of the Mountain stage – usually one of my favourite sections, believe it or not.
Thankfully, after a stop at the Invermoriston pits for a bit of stretching and some painkillers I managed to loosen it up enough just in time for the start of the climb. I’m not a record-breaker up the 4.8-mile ascent, but I do tend to overtake more people than come past me here, and I caught up to Alan who had left me standing after Invermoriston.
I battled up to the top where the lone piper was welcoming riders to the end of the mountain stage, where there are great views from the Suidhe.
From here there’s a fitting reward, especially with the wind now at our backs as it was – the descent twists round a couple of bends as you pick up speed then continues to drop on a long straight. My top speed was around 36mph according to Strava, which is fast enough for me, although some people were still firing past me at an almighty pace even then.
Still, I knew there were a few sneaky climbs left in the rest of the route, including after you turn left towards Foyers on a beautiful twisting single-track road That vaguely follows the line of the River Foyers into the village. There’s also some fast and fun downhill with big corners to negotiate.
Related articles:
• PICTURES AND VIDEO - Over 6000 cyclists ride through Inverness at Etape Loch Ness
• WATCH: Inverness cyclist breaks women’s record at Etape Loch Ness
• WATCH: Men’s record broken at Etape Loch Ness as cyclist takes top title
Then it was onto Inverfarigaig, which is soon reached, before the long slog towards Dores, passing a small alpaca herd on the way.
With a hill to climb after the school at Aldourie, then the short rise at Scaniport, the legs were really feeling it, but after that it is downhill and flat to the finish, so I went for it and cruised over the finish line outside the cathedral in four hours and 23 minutes. It was a long way off my best but I was happy to get round and still have my hamstring intact after the way I was feeling earlier in the morning.
I grabbed a sausage roll and a dream ring from the Harry Gow stall at the finish along with my Erdinger alcohol-free beer, all of which went down a treat after such an effort on a Sunday morning.
The sun was out in Inverness and apparently it had been dry all the time here, so the event hub was a hive of activity as the prizes were handed out and people queued to have their photos taken on the stage.
The Etape is becoming more and more popular year on year, and it is clearly a bucket-list event for people now. For those of us on the doorstep, it is a great opportunity to ride these roads with no traffic and push ourselves harder than we might normally.
I’ll be back in 2026 and, judging by my children’s reaction at the end, I might be joined by some of them before too long when they are old enough!
Route details
Etape Loch Ness
Distance 66 miles / 106 km
Terrain Closed-road sportive around Loch Ness
Start/finish Inverness
Map OS Landranger 26 & 34; OS Explorer 414
John Davidson completed his 10th Etape Loch Ness at the weekend as the cycle sportive returned to Inverness
Click here to see the route in OS Maps
