The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup round at Fort William is one of the key fixtures on the Scottish sporting calendar and this year it has a new twist in that the trophies presented to the winning riders are hand made from recycled bike parts.

Kenny Wilson, known as “Sprocketman,” has designed and constructed a limited series of bespoke trophies to be presented to the winning downhill riders. The trophies will be designed in the shape of the thistle motif and will be made from recycled bike parts and local Lochaber slate.

A keen cyclist, Kenny said it has been an honour to be involved in designing the awards for the event: “I’ve worked at the Mountain Bike World Cup in the past as both a volunteer and a stall holder so I was delighted to be asked to create the awards, as it’s a fantastic event with a great atmosphere. I wanted to make sure the awards are relevant to the sport which is why I’ve used bike bits and locally sourced slate – it’s nice to think that winning riders from all over the world will be taking a wee bit of Lochaber back home with them.”

Last year’s event attracted more than 18,500 spectators and generated £2.5milllion for the local economy. The two days of competition are a huge celebration of mountain biking and the World Cup Village creates a family friendly festival atmosphere with loads of activities and entertainment to keep everyone captivated the whole weekend.  All the World Cup events will take place in or around the Nevis Range ski area and the Leanachan Forest, 9km from Fort William.