​New fund set up by organisers of cycling’s Tour o’ the Borders now open for applications

Opposition from villagers and townsfolk inconvenienced by the closed-road sportive saw it forced to follow a different route in 2023 and prompted Hillside Outside, the Peebles-based firm that organises it, to scrap 2024’s tour and even consider scrapping it all together.

Research carried out in the interim revealed widespread support for the tour, leading to a comeback this September, and its organisers are keen to build bridges with communities on its route via Peebles, Innerleithen and the Ettrick and Yarrow valleys ahead of its return for an 11th edition in an effort to avert potential further objections.

That olive branch takes the form of the Touro Trust, a fund announced last April to support community initiatives along the event’s route, and it’s now up and running and committed to handing out at least £2,000 a year to one eligible project.

Paid for by Hillside Outside and donations from cyclists, the trust’s stated aim is to give something back to communities hosting the tour, particularly those inconvenienced by the road closures required.

​“There’s huge support for this event within the communities the riders pass through but we’ve always been aware of the inconvenience closed roads can cause and we continue to work hard to mitigate the problems,” said Hillside Outside director Neil Dalgleish.

“This initiative will really give something back to at least one of the communities affected.

“All the riders love the safety and pleasure of closed-road cycling so they have welcomed the chance to thank those communities too. It means a great deal to the thousands who take part.”

The tour is also partnering with Scottish sporting legend Chris Hoy this year to help raise money for cancer charities across the UK as it’s taking place on the same day – Sunday, September 7 – as his Tour de 4 cycling event.

First staged in 2012 but only on closed roads since 2014, the tour is billed as being the biggest mass-participation sporting event in the region, attracting regular turnouts of about 2,000.

Applications for funding are to be emailed to [email protected]