The Etape Loch Ness 2023, a 66-mile closed road cycling event, has been deemed a success. A total of 6,000 cyclists from 20 countries signed up to participate, including nearly 800 riders who raised £200,000 for charity partner Macmillan Cancer Support. This brings the total amount raised for the charity since 2014 to £1.88 million. General entry for the event sold out within 50 hours, with participants of varying abilities coming from Scotland and other locations. This is my Story.

April 22nd: an 8-hour drive to Inverness, then picked up my registration pack.

April 23rd: An early start was required, as I had to be at the holding area between 6-6:20 am. I left my apartment around 5:45 am, thinking I would be one of the first riders to reach holding area C. However, to my surprise, there were already over 100 riders there, despite being told not to arrive before our designated time. The weather was better than expected, with a temperature of about 5°C, light rain, and a gentle breeze. It took approximately 30 minutes to reach the start line. Once off, we immediately encountered the first climb, which was a mile long (I’ve included screenshots of the GPS unit’s data). The second climb came at around 10 miles, followed by the third climb at 15 miles, the fourth at 18 miles, the fifth at 20 miles, the sixth at 33 miles (with a maximum gradient of 12%), the seventh at 44 miles, and the eighth at 58 miles.

I managed the first five climbs without any problems. The sixth climb was tough, as it spanned 5 miles, but fortunately, it was divided into three sections. The first section, about 1.5 miles, felt the most challenging, followed by a descent before the second section, a 1-mile climb. After that, the terrain became fairly flat, leading to the last section, another 1-mile climb, where we eagerly awaited the sound of the piper signaling that we had reached the top. I did stop a couple of times to take photos and videos, which only took about 40 seconds.

Then came a much-welcomed 6-mile descent before the next climb.

At the 52-mile mark, I stopped at one of the feed stations for approximately 7 minutes and also changed my gloves for dry ones. The final 3 miles were relatively flat, and I managed to pass a few riders before reaching the finish line in a time of 4:15:24.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Sportive, although I was relieved when it was over. I have even registered my interest for next year’s event.

Thanks to R Jones for letting us cover his version of the Etape Loch Ness 2023. If you want to leave a donation for Macmillan Cancer Support please do so here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/macmillanroger?utm_source=copyLink&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=macmillanroger&utm_campaign=pfp-share&utm_term=bc742ab418774096940fae3064bf3bdb