Congratulations to Huw Oliver, the first rider to complete this year’s Highland Trail 550 (HT550) in Scotland, who wrapped up his ride yesterday in 3 days, 11 hours, and 24 minutes. Find photos and a quick update on the event here…

Photos by Annie Le, Ian Ashton, and Ewan Thorburn

The Highland Trail 550 (HT550) is notorious for its relentlessly challenging terrain. It’s nearly impossible for riders to choose the perfect bike, Scotland’s weather is unpredictable (and usually quite wet), and there are no shortage of reasons for riders to bail out during the event. Still, each year, a small group of riders pulls away from the pack and completes the route mostly unscathed.

2022 ht550
  • 2022 ht550
  • 2022 ht550
  • 2022 ht550

For 2022, route veteran Huw Oliver finished first with an unofficial time of 3 days, 11 hours, and 24 minutes (03:11:24). Huw was just an hour or so shy of Liam Glen’s 2021 first place finish, and not far off of our very own Neil Beltchenko’s 2017 course record, though the route has changed since 2017, so it’s difficult to compare attempts. Regardless, it has been an exciting few days on the route, including 18 scratched riders and another 50 still out on course as of yesterday. GPS trackers have been failing, bikes are breaking, and predicting who’ll might finish next is no easy task.

2022 ht550

Earlier this morning Simon Guignard, took second place with an unofficial time of 3 days, 21 hours, and 16 minutes (03:21:16). Alexander Berry, who was riding neck-and-neck with Huw for most of the event, also finished a couple of hours later, with Jean Rogelet and Stefano Romualdi taking fourth and fifth shortly after. Currently, Angus Young’s location isn’t known (more tracker problems), but he shouldn’t be too far off from the finish. Pictured below is Gail Brown, currently in 18th place overall and the leading woman in the event. You can follow the progress of the remaining riders out on the course below.

2022 ht550

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