Premium cycling brand to inspire riders to visit Scotland

A premium cycling clothing brand is set to inspire riders to head to Scotland after launching its new clothing range on an epic two-day adventure in the Highlands, says VisitScotland.

Rapha launched its new range (released this week) with a photoshoot taking a group of cyclists to the Scottish Highlands via the Caledonian Sleeper for a 125-mile return journey from Fort William to Drimnin.

With cycling tourism, involving overnight trips, worth more than £100 million to the Scottish economy, national tourism organisation, VisitScotland, hopes Rapha’s decision to choose Scotland for the first time as the backdrop for its photoshoot, will encourage cyclists to similarly choose Scotland for their next adventure.

The route features on Rapha’s website announcing the new Explore clothing range and will be sent to members of the Rapha Cycling Club which has a growing international following.

Scotland is home to approximately 2,371 miles of National Cycle Network routes, including 644 miles of traffic-free routes which use a mix of railway path, canal towpath, forest road, shared-use path, segregated cycle lanes and rural footways.

With cycling becoming an increasingly popular way to explore, VisitScotland spent time working with the Cyclists Touring Club and the Scottish Cyclists Union to produce a ‘Cyclists Welcome’ scheme to meet the specific accommodation and visitor attraction needs of cyclists. Currently almost 1,000 businesses in Scotland participate in the scheme.

Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “Our beautiful and diverse landscapes are a haven for cyclists, so it is little wonder that Rapha has chosen Scotland to launch its latest clothing range. There are many ways to explore Scotland but with more than 2000 cycle network routes and a third of these traffic-free, few offer the complete freedom that you get when you take to the road, path or trail on a bicycle. Rapha is a prestigious brand amongst riders and to get its stamp of approval as a cycle destination will no doubt inspire many others to follow in its wake.”

James Fairbank, Central Marketing Director at Rapha, said: “Rapha recently travelled to Scotland for an out-the-door adventure that would test our new Explore collection. It started when five of our riders and wearing testers boarded an overnight sleeper train heading for Fort William. We've experienced incredible scenery and our weekend ended in high spirits, despite a few punctures and some typically varied weather that put our latest Explore collection through the motions.

“Our riders discovered new roads, warmed up in cafes and took in the sights before catching the last train back to London. A location such as Scotland, combined with the freedom that comes with travelling by bike and access to the overnight train, becomes the perfect UK destination.”

For more on cycling tourism go to https://www.visitscotland.org/binaries/content/assets/dot-org/pdf/research-papers/cycling-topic-paper-2017.pdf

Rapha’s feature on the collection and Scotland trip can be found here https://www.rapha.cc/gb/en/stories/rapha-explore-2018

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