"Scotland provides fantastic scenery, which makes for a great backdrop to The Tour, showcasing the British countryside via our television coverage, at home and abroad.  Both the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway are excellent locations for cycling too, which we always aim to highlight with both scenic, and testing routes that showcase just what Scotland has to offer," Hugh Roberts, Chief Executive of The Tour of Britain.

Cycling is one of the fastest growing sports in the world and one of the most diverse and exciting sports in Scotland’s events calendar. Over the years, EventScotland has worked to establish Scotland as a premier destination for the sport.

From adrenalin fuelled mountain biking championships to stamina based road cycling events such as The Tour of Britain, Scotland has a competitive history in hosting cycling events of real calibre. Over £1,000,000 has been invested in cycling events in Scotland since 2003.

Fort William in the Scottish Highlands has hosted a stage of the annual Mountain Bike World Cup since 2002 and, in 2007, staged the UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championship. Set against the spectacular backdrop of Ben Nevis, this was the biggest event ever to be staged in the Scottish Highlands and arguably the best ever world championships staged for mountain biking which attracted over 20,000 spectators.

The Tour of Britain returns north of the border in 2012, along with the Highland Perthshire Cycling Festival, the Scottish Six Day Trials, Tweedlove and the IXS Downhill Cup.

The UCI Youth Track World Championships will take place in 2013 and is the first event to be secured for the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome ahead of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

All of these events help develop tourism by showcasing the country through international media coverage, promoting our adventure sport credentials and profiling Scotland as the Perfect Stage for events. The ambition is strong to secure more world championship cycling events for the country post 2014 and continue to expand the investment in mountain bikes and the events staged across the country.

Follow the link to view upcoming cycling events supported by EventScotland.