Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Best pictures from Etape Caledonia as thousands of cyclists converge on Perthshire

The 18th Etape Caledonia saw 4,000 riders take to the roads around Pitlochry.

Cyclist giving thumbs-up to camera while rising through mountainous Perthshire scenery
Etape Caledonia cyclists have given this year's event a big thumbs-up. Image: Andrew Leinster.

More than 4,000 cyclists from all over the UK travelled to Perthshire for the 18th Etape Caledonia.

The popular sportive saw riders take on three challenging closed-road routes around Pitlochry on Sunday.

And it was a local rider who claimed one of the top honours on the day.

John Hayes from Pitlochry set the fastest time for the 40-mile route, with 1h 58m 48s.

The three route options took in the mighty Schiehallion climb, passing Loch Rannoch and Loch Tummel and various Highland Perthshire villages.

And a host of fundraisers took part as well.

John Hayes smiling on bicycle
John Hayes. Image: Andrew Leinster.

Calum MacLellan, owner of Taste Perthshire at Bankfoot, completed the 85-mile route with his sons Connor and Brodie.

They were raising funds for the Ruth Strauss Foundation, in memory of Calum’s best friend Cameron who died earlier this year from lung cancer. The two pals had previously taken part in the Etape Caledonia together for 10 years.

Calum said: “While this year has felt different without him, we’ve completed the route for him.”

A range of other charities were also represented, including Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance, Finding Your Feet, Pancreatic Cancer UK, SiMBA, the Brain Tumour Charity and Marie Curie.

Etape Caledonia 2024 in pictures

The spoils were tied for the 55-mile-route, with Jessica Rhodes-Jones and Xavier Disley from Malvern both finishing first in 2h 34m 48s.

And the top time in the 85-mile route went to Tom Miller from London, with 3h 35m 26s.

Here are some of the best pictures from the day.

Etape Caledonia cyclists riding through Perthshire village
Etape Caledonia cyclists enjoyed a warm Perthshire welcome. Image: Andrew Leinster.
Cyclist waving to camera while riding up steep country road
Not too steep for a wave to the photographer. Image: Andrew Leinster.
Aerial photo showing cyclists riding over bridge surrounded by mountains and forests
Etape Caledonia takes cyclists through some of Scotland’s most scenic roads. Image: Andrew Leinster.
Cyclist smiling on country road
Still smiling. Image: Andrew Leinster.
Woman cyclist on country road with no other cyclists around
Flying solo. Image: Andrew Leinster.
Smiling cyclist holding bike in one hand while giving victory salute
The smile that says it’s over, for another year. Image: Andrew Leinster.
Aerial photo showing streets of Pitlochry filled with cyclists
Pitlochry was packed for the Etape Caledonia. Raymond Leinster.
Cyclist punching air while riding over bridge
Keep going. Image: Andrew Leinster.
Woman cyclist drinking from water bottle
Time for a breather. Image: Andrew Leinster.
Cyclists riding through moorland and forests with misty mountains behind
The hills were alive with the sound of cyclists. Image: Andrew Leinster.
Three cyclists riding over a bridge
Cyclists crossing. Image: Andrew Leinster.
Cyclists crossing metal bridge over river
More stunning scenery for the Etape Caledonia riders. Image: Andrew Leinster.
Two cyclists riding up hill with mountain behind them
Uphill but still smiling. Image: Andrew Leinster.
Cyclist sticking out tongue and giving metal signal with thumb and little finger
Not all hand signals are in the Highway Code. Image: Andrew Leinster.
Procession of cyclists coming down road
Thousands of cyclists took part in the 18th Etape Caledonia. Image: Andrew Leinster.
Group of cyclists riding up hill
This group made short work of this climb. Image: Andrew Leinster.
Woman smiling while riding bicycle on country road
Smile if you love cycling. Image: Andrew Leinster.
Aerial shot showing large group of cyclists in town square
A bird’s eye view of Etape Caledonia 2024. Image: Andrew Leinster.

Conversation