Road race rings up £1m for Perthshire economy

THE controversial Etape Caledonia road race, the largest closed road cycling event in the UK, was worth more than £1 million to the economy of Highland Perthshire, a study has revealed.

Last year's event was sabotaged after tacks were strewn across part of the route by protesters. But this year's race went off without a hitch in May. The race along an 81-mile route attracted a record entry of more than 3,600 cyclists.

The independent economic impact study by consultants EKOS has disclosed that this year's event brought an additional 1.16m into the Perth and Kinross economy. The figure for the 2009 event was 926,000.

Councillor John Kellas, the enterprise and infrastructure convener of Perth and Kinross Council, said: "The value of cycling tourism in the UK is estimated at 635m a year and we want to ensure that Highland Perthshire enjoys the full benefit from this growing sector."