Two major cycling events which brought more than 1,000 cyclists to Lochaber went ahead at the weekend, despite a woman being seriously injured as she headed north.
The Deloitte Ride Across Britain (RAB) 2014 travelled through the area on Saturday, the same day as the Rat Race Coast to Coast event passed through.
Fears had been raised that the two events would cause gridlock on the A82 Inverness to Glasgow road.
And it appeared campaigners’ fears had been realised on Friday, after a woman taking part in RAB was seriously injured after colliding with a car near Loch Earn on the A85 Perth to Crianlarich road just before 11am.
The route was closed for more than five hours while police carried out an investigation – causing a 71-mile detour for motorists using the busy trunk road.
The woman was taken to Forth Valley Royal Hospital to be treated for her injuries.
The cyclists competing in the Hamilton to Fort William leg of the RAB were taken by bus to Fort William, and the race continued as planned on Saturday with the Fort William to Kyle of Sutherland leg.
Neither the organisers of the RAB or the Rat Race Coast to Coast could be contacted on Sunday, but both events went ahead as planned.
A police spokesman said: “On Saturday the cyclists on the Ride Across Britain went from Fort William to Fort Augustus and up the east side of Loch Ness to avoid going all the way up the A82. There were no major incidents that I am aware of.
“We had a couple of people ringing us to ask when the bikes would be off the A82, but as far as I’m aware there weren’t any significant delays or problems.”
Speaking on Friday night, a spokeswoman for RAB event organiser Threshold Sports said: “No issue has a greater priority for us than the safety of our participants and we have been working with our health and safety team who liaised closely with the local emergency services to ensure a quick response to the situation.”