Plan for an extended Etape

Organisers propose extending the route through Glen Lyon

The Etape Caledonia could return in 2018 with a longer and more challenging route for participants.

Organiser IMG has been inundated with calls for an extended event in recent years.

Discussions with communities, elected members and other interested parties have focused upon continuing the route through Glen Lyon, which would enable Ben Lawers to be added to the 81-mile route that already visits lochs Tummel and Rannoch.

The extended route could result in some temporary road restrictions around Kenmore and Killin, which could prove controversial.

Permission is not guaranteed, but from fraught beginnings the Etape has become one of the UK’s best-loved cycle events.

It has contributed greatly to the successful marketing of Perth and Kinross as a go-to destination for cycling and has proved a major catalyst for additional celebrations of cycling, including festivals from Pitlochry to Kinross.

Participation in the Etape has increased each year — as have the sums raised for main event charity Marie Curie.

More than 5,000 cyclists took part in the 2017 cycle in May and riders are being encouraged to register interest for 2018.

It has also gained a reputation as one of the friendliest cycling events — and one of the most picturesque, taking riders through mile after mile of stunning Highland Perthshire countryside.

The event is said to contribute heavily to the local economy, with many participants planning to build extended trips around the event.

Map showing the proposed route of Etape 2018, with the addition of a circuit around Ben Lawers.