RideLondon is an annual festival of cycling held in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. Intended as an annual legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, it was first held in 2013. The format consists of a series of cycling events on closed roads around London and

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Gr ...

for amateur and professional

cyclists Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

. Between 2013 and 2019, the event culminated in the

London–Surrey Classic The London–Surrey Classic (also known as the RideLondon–Surrey Classic) was an annual men's professional one-day road cycling race, starting and finishing in London and routed via the picturesque Surrey Hills. The first race of its kind w ...

, a one-day international elite men's

road cycling race Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

. From 2022, the

RideLondon Classique RideLondon Classique is a women's cycle stage race held in Essex and London for the UCI Women's World Tour. Part of the RideLondon cycling festival, the race was originally held as a one-day race in central London, and became a stage race in 20 ...

- a three day, international elite women's road race as part of the

UCI Women's World Tour The UCI Women's World Tour is the premier annual female elite road cycling Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes recreational, racing, commuting, and utility cycling. As ...

- serves as the flagship event.

Current events

RideLondon is composed of several events held on the same weekend, currently in late May. Previously the event was held in late July, to follow the conclusion of the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

RideLondon Classique

A three day, international elite women's road race forms part of the

. In 2022, the first two stages are held in Essex, with the final stage taking place in London. First held as a one-day race in central London in 2013, at one time the Classique awarded the highest prize money for a women's one-day race.

RideLondon Essex

Starting and finishing in London and passing through

, the RideLondon Essex is a sportive ride for amateur cyclists, with over 25,000 participants. In previous years, RideLondon Surrey served as the sportive ride, with riders raising money for charities - £12.5 million in 2017. As with previous editions, routes vary in distance from 100 to 30 miles.

RideLondon FreeCycle

The RideLondon FreeCycle is an opportunity for amateurs to cycle on closed roads in Central London, passing landmarks such as

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ha ...

, the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government o ...

, the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

and

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a G ...

Previous events

RideLondon-Surrey Classic

The RideLondon-Surrey Classic was a one-day international elite men's

, held on the Sunday of the RideLondon weekend between 2013 and 2019. The route generally followed a similar route to the London 2012 Road Race with multiple circuits in and around

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp Bro ...

and the Surrey Hills, before heading into London for a finish on The Mall.

Brompton World Championship

The Brompton World Championship became part of the RideLondon cycling festival in 2015. The event involved 550 riders racing around a central London circuit on

folding bicycle A folding bicycle is a bicycle designed to fold into a compact form, facilitating transport and storage. When folded, the bikes can be more easily carried into buildings, on public transportation (facilitating mixed-mode commuting and bicycl ...

s, with a sprint finish on The Mall. Riders were mostly dressed in

suit A suit, lounge suit, or business suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of tr ...

s, to reflect the us of folding bikes by commuters.

RideLondon HandCycle races and junior races

The RideLondon HandCycle and Junior races were also included in the RideLondon weekend. Both elite and amateur HandCycle events were staged. The Junior categories feature boys and girls races for 13–16 years old.

History

Origins

The origins of RideLondon can be traced back to when London was awarded the rights to stage the 2012

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

. Subsequently, London has staged a number of cycling events. In 2007, London hosted the

Grand Départ and, also closed roads to create a day-long safe cycling environment in the city centre, known at the time as

The London Freewheel The London Freewheel, originally known for sponsorship reasons as the 'Hovis London Freewheel', was developed by the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) to encourage and increase cycling participation, and promote cycling as a form of ...

. This annual one-day event continued between 2007-2011 and, from 2009 became known as the Mayor of London's Skyride. Ambition to create a new world-class event for cycling, that could one day rival London's most iconic sporting events such as the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...

and, the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is play ...

, was born. The aim of the annual event is to include the world's top men, women and, hand cyclists racing as part of the international cycling calendar in order to challenge and inspire people from all backgrounds to get on two wheels. In late 2011 and early 2012, Mayor

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as Fo ...

assessed and formally approved the recommendation to create the event. In 2011, a test event for the Olympic Games road race was held on a similar route to be used for the road races of the Olympic Games - the

London–Surrey Cycle Classic The London–Surrey Cycle Classic was a one-off, one-day bicycle race that served as one of three U.K. events in the year-long 2010–11 UCI Europe Tour and acted as the test event for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The race was part of the London Pr ...

. In 2012, the search for a suitably qualified and experienced delivery partner was launched. After detailed work, a joint venture including the organisers of the London Marathon and the

Tour of Britain The Tour of Britain is a multi-stage cycling race, conducted on British roads, in which participants race across Great Britain to complete the race in the fastest time. The event dates back to the first British stage races held just after the S ...

under the name of the London & Surrey Cycling Partnership was selected to make the event a reality. The event would be delivered in partnership with

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party h ...

and include a route through the Surrey Hills, which also mirrored the London Olympic Games road race. The event is part of the London 2012 Olympic legacy. In August 2012, as the Olympic Games drew to a close, the Mayor of London and the London & Surrey Cycling Partnership, alongside British Cycling and double Olympic champion Laura Trott, formally launched RideLondon and called for fans to sign up to the 100-mile challenge. The event's first title sponsor, Prudential, was announced in early 2013 by which time more than 55,000 people had signed up to be one of the first riders to participate in the inaugural RideLondon-Surrey 100. This race is part of the Prudential RideLondon festival weekend with coverage to be broadcast live on

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and international TV. The RideLondon vision was to showcase the capital to nationwide and international audiences, generate economic benefit from participant and spectator expenditure and inspire more people to take up regular cycling.

Initial years

In 2013, more than 16,000 people started the RideLondon-Surrey 100, more than 50,000 took part in RideLondon FreeCycle and over 1,000 volunteers helped run the event. 99% of participants rated the event as good or excellent and riders in the RideLondon-Surrey 100 raised more than £7 million for charity. In 2014, over 16,000 completed the RideLondon-Surrey 100 (shortened to 86 miles due to adverse weather conditions) with 60,000 taking part in the FreeCycle and more than £10 million being raised for charity by riders in the RideLondon-Surrey 100. This set a new record for a UK one-day cycling event for a second successive year. In response to the huge demand for the event, places were increased by 25 per cent in 2015, with more than 25,000 riders crossing the Start Line in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on 2 August. This year a new event was also added to the RideLondon cycling festival: the 10th

Brompton Bicycle Brompton Bicycle is a British manufacturer of folding bicycles based in Greenford, London. The Brompton folding bicycle and accessories are the company's core product, noted for its self-supporting compact size when stored. All available model ...

World Championship Final. This event featured in the RideLondon Grand Prix races in St James's Park and was the first time that the Brompton World Championship Final had been held in London. The event opened with a Le Mans-style start as 500 smartly-dressed competitors from around the world made a mad dash to unfold their bikes before setting off on the circuit. Six Festival Zones (up from five in 2014) in RideLondon FreeCycle offered riders a chance to stop and enjoy a huge range of free bike-based entertainment and to try out many different bike-based activities. The women's RideLondon Grand Prix race was also one of the biggest one-day races on the international calendar and was again televised live by the BBC.

2016 to present

In 2016, a new 46-mile event was launched by Bradley Wiggins specifically for newer and younger cyclists. The RideLondon-Surrey 46 on traffic-free roads starts at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and follows the same route as RideLondon-Surrey 100 for the first 27 miles before taking a new two-mile route, which then links up with the last 17 miles to the finish in The Mall. The RideLondon Grand Prix was renamed the RideLondon Classique, the race was added to the

, and it gained an identical €100,000 prize fund to the London–Surrey Classic - making it the richest one-day race in the women's calendar. In 2017, the RideLondon-Surrey Classic gained

UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour (2009–2010: ''UCI World Ranking'') is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annual ...

status, the only event in Britain. Riders in the RideLondon-Surrey 100 and RideLondon-Surrey 46 together raised £12.75 million for charity. The 2020 and 2021 events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020,

withdrew their support of the event at the end of their contract. Following the withdrawal of sponsors Prudential and

, from 2022 RideLondon became a one-day event in

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its character ...

, with a 3-day elite women's race (

) as the main event, as well as a public freeride. In March 2021, a 10 year partnership with London Marathon Events to stage the event was agreed. In June 2021, organisers confirmed that the men's race would not return in 2022. In November 2021, an agreement with

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. It has 75 councillors, elected from 70 divisions, and is currently controlled by the Conservative Party. The council meets at County Hall ...

was announced, with Essex hosting both the 100 mile challenge ride, as well as two stages of an elite women's race.

Results

References

External links

ridelondon.co.uk
RideLondon official website {{UCI Women's World Tour Cycling in London Recurring events established in 2007 September events Cycling events in the United Kingdom Annual events in London 2007 in London 2007 establishments in England Autumn events in England RideLondon