The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series returns to Fort William on 5-6 June 2004, and the Alpine Bikes World Cup Chaser is coming back with it. The scary-fast pro riders race for World Cup XC points on Saturday, and then on Sunday us mere mortals can have a go over the very same course…

The Chaser is organised by Glasgow Mountain Bike Club – Peter Siebelt of GMBC said: “e are really pleased that our idea to put on an open race at Fort William went ahead in 2003 and are delighted to get a chance to do it all again this year.”

The course, the 8km Witch’s Trail in Leanachan Forest on the slopes of Ben Nevis, already has a great reputation – you only had to look at some of the broken bikes and riders trudging back to the arena last year to get an idea of how tough it is. The course has been tweaked slightly for 2004 but it’s unlikely to have got any easier.

Entries are limited to 500, so get in quick – the entry fee includes admission to the World Cup DH finals plus an event t-shirt. Further details and entry forms are available at from the official World Cup website or www.walkerscycling.co.uk or
www.gmbc.org.uk.

As for the rest of the weekend, it’s all looking good. This will be the third World Cup event at Fort William and the second three-way (XC, 4X and DH) race weekend. Fort William’s built an enviable reputation with racers and spectators and has won an bunch of awards for boosting tourism in the area. It’s going to be massive…