The organiser of a north-east cycling sportive is asking riders to take on this year’s challenge for local causes.
The Etape Royale last year raised more than £7,000 for local groups.
Now organisers Wildfox Events are urging cyclists to sign up for the three-day 100-mile ride through Aberdeenshire and Moray to do their bit for their communities.
The event will run from Friday, September 16 to Sunday, September 18 and 10% of every entry fee will be pledged to local projects.
World record-breaking adventurer Mark Beaumont will be an ambassador for the biking challenge.
Participants will cycle through Aberdeenshire, across the Lecht and into Moray, both starting and finishing in Ballater.
Wildfox Events are this year hoping to attract a 1,800 entries to raise money for Marie Curie and a number of local charities.
David Fox-Pitt, managing director of Wildfox Events, said: “It goes without saying that putting on a closed road cycling event of this scale, particularly in a small rural community, brings its challenges, and quite simply, without the support of the people and businesses who make up that community, we would be at a loss.
“Wildfox has always had a strong ethos of supporting charity and community enterprise so it’s rewarding to see the impact we have made so far through the Quilter Cheviot Etape Royale, and if more people register to take part on the day, we will be able to increase this contribution.”
One group who benefited from last year’s event was the Cabrach Community Association, who used the funds to build a cairn in memory of local men who died at war.
Members of the group said: “The project in its entirety has cost our small community almost £12,000 to date, so we can say for certain, the memorial would not have been possible without donations and support from organisations like Wildfox Events and the Etape Royale, which we are happy to be partnering with again this year.”