The organisers of a new charity challenge in Lochaber have vowed to change the date of their event next year after it clashed with the Mountain Bike World Cup this weekend.
Competitors taking part in the Ben Nevis Charity Challenge had difficulty finding accommodation in the Fort William area and added to congestion on the busy A82 Inverness to Fort William road during yesterday’s event.
More than 100 teams of four from companies across the UK took part in the gruelling event organised by Dream Challenges.
They set off at one minute intervals from 6am to climb Ben Nevis, cycle 25 miles and canoe a circuit of Loch Lochy. The fastest team completed the course in five hours and 54 minutes, with most taking between eight and 11 hours to reach the finish.
Their cycle route took them onto the A82 between Nevis Range and Torlundy and between Spean Bridge and the Gairlochy turn-off above the Commando Monument, with long tail-backs developing due to other vehicles being unable to pass them on the busy trunk road.
Mike Hughson, who is a director of Dream Challenges, said: “We were aware of the clashing dates but did not think the two events would impinge on each other, apart from accommodation.
“Some people taking part in the challenge struggled to find accommodation and were unable to stay in the Fort William area so we will be moving our dates next year so they don’t clash.”
He added that the event had gone well and was expected to raise more than £200,000 for more than 30 UK-based charities.
Mr Hughson said: “The interest in this new event far exceeded our expectations so we are looking at running it on two days next year, one in June and one in September.
“However, we will definitely be looking for a weekend in June that does not clash with the Mountain Bike World Cup.”
Stewart MacLean, of the A82 Partnership, said: “I’m sure the organisers of the Ben Nevis Charity Challenge will have themselves realised the difficulties they have, both with accommodation and traffic, when it clashes with a major event and will sort it out for next year.”