Bikes from Commencal, Genesis, KTM Industries, Santa Cruz and Trek will be available to test free of charge. Fox is also lending support to ensure that bikes are set-up to the specification of each rider.

A special Bike Test course has been created, consisting of a shortened loop of just over 4km set over the World Championship trail, with a mix of forest road, technical singletrack and cruising double tracks offering the ideal terrain for testing bikes.

Lesley Beck from event organisers Rare Management, comments: “We all love watching world-class biking talent but it’s good to be able to get a piece of the action too! The Bike Test is yet another reason for mountain biking fans to make a trip to the Highlands this year. We’ll have the best new models available to try out on a really brilliant course. It’s just a matter of picking a bike online and booking a slot.”

The award-winning Fort William Mountain Bike World Cup returns to the scenic Scottish Highlands in June for its eighth year and is expected to attract around 350 professional riders and 15,000 spectators.

The main event is the ‘Gravity Gathering’, a showcase of professional Downhill and 4-Cross biking competition. A new element for 2009 is the Cross Country Sprint – a crowd-pleasing race set on a fast and exciting short course that will showcase the cream of biking talent to spectators.

The World Cup Bike Test is open to over 18s only and they must have a valid ticket for the Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Fort William, available at www.fortwilliamworldcup.co.uk or by calling 01397 705825 between 9am-5pm.

A weekend adult pass is £32.00, 6-17 year olds pay £16.00 and children aged under six go free. Single day passes and family tickets are also available. Please visit the website for full details.

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