On 1 & 2 June 2002 Scotland hosted the first high-profile World Cup Mountain Bike Downhill and 4-Cross competitions ever to be held in the UK and they have been judged to be a resounding success by everyone involved.

The additional expenditure of The Tissot UCI Mountain Bike World Cup at Fort William to the Lochaber area has now been established at more than £600,000 with the publication of an Economic Impact Study, prepared by sportscotland. The report also reveals that the bulk of the expenditure came from the 8,000 plus spectators and 2,000 competitors, media and officials who attended the event, with an impressive 90% of attendees being visitors from outwith the local area.

Mike Watson, MSP, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, said: 'The World Cup Mountain Bike Downhill has clearly demonstrated the benefits of hosting high profile sports events to our tourism industry.

'When events organisers work closely with local accommodation providers and transport operators, we can offer the ultimate package to our visitors. That is why we are developing a major events strategy as a platform to display Scotland's potential both as an events venue and as a must-visit destination.

'We hope that the success of the event can be used to establish Scotland as a regular venue on the World Cup mountain bike circuit in the near future. I will be meeting with sportscotland to see how we can take this forward.'

In the official event report from the UCI (International Cycle Union) the world governing body for all cycling disciplines, recorded 40 of its 54 criteria as good or excellent (above or well above UCI expectations).

The outstanding success of the Tissot UCI Mountain Bike World Cup 2002 at Nevis Range, Fort William has put the Scottish Highlands firmly on the World stage in terms of large-scale sporting events.

Alastair Dempster, Chairman of sportscotland said; 'The sportscotland Lottery Fund is proud to have sponsored the 2002 Mountain Bike World Cup through the Major Events Programme. It is gratifying to see that all expectations of the event were more than realised with over 8,000 spectators brought to Fort William over the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend.

'Attracting events of this stature to Scotland is an integral aspect of sportscotland's commitment to promote sport. Major events such as these are important not only because they can bring significant economic rewards, as was the case in Fort William, but also because they generate higher profiles for sports and they show the world that we have the athletes, the ability and the facilities to host first-rate events.'

Many of the world's top extreme mountain bikers, mountain bike trade teams, media, event village exhibitors, officials, spectators and local traders have recorded how much they enjoyed and appreciated this spectacular weekend. Following this vote of confidence, Rare Management, organisers of one of the biggest and most exciting events ever to hit British mountain biking and the Scottish Highlands, are already in the process of putting together an official bid to the UCI for a repeat event in 2003.

Mike Jardine of Rare Management commented; 'We have proved to the world that we can put on a truly international top level event at Nevis Range. The challenge now is to build on that success and put together an even better event in 2003.'

Daily attendance at the event, in excess of 4,000 each day and double the number anticipated, combined with visitors to the area for the Golden Jubilee weekend meant that accommodation was fully booked for miles around and local traders benefited from one of their best ever weekends.

Peter Lederer, Chairman of VisitScotland, said; 'VisitScotland was delighted to have supported this event, and proud that it proved to be such a huge success. The economic boost of the Mountain Bike world cup to the Lochaber area and Scotland as a whole demonstrates how important extreme activities tourism is to the country's economy. The success of this event strongly demonstrates how well our country is placed to attract high profile events like this, and gives us the confidence to attract more in the future.

'I believe that the experiences of the Mountain Bike world cup will remain with the majority of the spectators, who will be spurred on to return to Scotland in the future for a memorable holiday.'

Although Steve Peat (Orange England), the UK number one downhill rider, had an uncharacteristic crash at Fort William, wins at the last two downhills in the eight venue series means that he is now the overall Tissot UCI World Cup leader. He is currently 143 points clear of his nearest rival with one race to go. Crawford Carrick-Anderson (Halfords/Bikehut), Scotland's number one rider, the next best Briton, is lying in 20th position. Having recorded a Downhill win in front of a home crowd at Fort William, Tracy Moseley (Kona) is now ranked 3rd in the world with Fionn Griffiths (Ancilotti/Azonic) at 5th and Helen Gaskell (Halfords/Bikehut) at 11th.

— Posted by Ari Cheren, MountainZone.com Gear Editor