RideLondon

RideLondon
Status Active
Frequency Annually
Country United Kingdom
Inaugurated 2013
Founder Mayor of London, London and Partners, Transport for London and Surrey County Council
Next event 28–30 July 2017
Activity Cycling
Organised by London & Surrey Cycling Partnership
Sponsor Prudential plc
Website
www.ridelondon.co.uk

RideLondon, known through sponsorship as Prudential RideLondon, is an annual three-day festival of cycling held in London. It was developed by the Mayor of London, London and Partners and Transport for London in partnership with Surrey County Council, and is managed by London & Surrey Cycling Partnership.

The festival was designed as an annual legacy from the Olympic Games and first held in 2013. The format consists of a series of cycling events on closed roads around London and Surrey for amateur cyclists and professionals, culminating in the London–Surrey Classic, a one-day international road cycling race.

Overview

Prudential RideLondon, the world's greatest festival of cycling, is composed of six events taking place the weekend following the end of the Tour de France at the end of July every year.

Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix

Taking place on the Friday at the Lee Valley VeloPark in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix features the Prudential RideLondon Handcycle Grand Prix, an event for injured veteran servicemen and women;the Prudential RideLondon Youths Grand Prix, showcasing Britain's next generation of top cyclists in a series of four races for boys and girls; and the Prudential RideLondon Elite Handcycle Grand Prix featuring some of the world's best handcyclists.

Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle

Taking place on the Saturday, the Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle offers a great opportunity for people of all ages to experience the fun and freedom of cycling on traffic-free roads in Central London.

The route features many of the capital's world-famous landmarks including the chance to cycle past Buckingham Palace in the west to the Bank of England in the east via the Houses of Parliament and St Paul's Cathedral. Everyone is welcome, no matter what their age or ability. Cyclists are able to cycle the route at a leisurely pace and as many times as they like with the ability to stop off n route at a number of different Festival Zones where there are a range of bicycle-based entertainment and activities to enjoy.

Prudential RideLondon Classique

The Prudential RideLondon Classique will take place on the Saturday afternoon on a 5.5 km circuit in central London, beginning and finishing on The Mall. The Classique has been awarded UCI WorldTour status by the world's governing body for cycling, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). In a landmark moment for women's cycling, the prize money for the Prudential RideLondon Classique is the highest ever offered for a women's one-day race and matches the prize money offered at the world's richest one day men's race – the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic – which takes place the following day, on the Sunday.

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46

First established in 2016, the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46 takes place on the Sunday morning. Created specifically for newer cyclists and also younger cyclists, the 46-mile route on traffic-free roads begins at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London and follows the same route as the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 for the first 27 miles before taking a new two-mile route, which then links up with the last 17 miles through London to the finish in The Mall.

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100

The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 takes place on the Sunday. Over 25,000 amateur cyclists start in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, then cycle through the capital and onto Surrey's country roads and the Surrey Hills before a finish on The Mall in central London.

As well as an opportunity to take on a personal challenge in completing the ride, participants' involvement also benefit good causes with thousands riding for charity. A record-breaking £12 million was raised for charity in 2015.[1] There's also a Peloton Relay for teams of four, where one rider starts the event, rider two joins after 26 miles, rider three joins after 48 miles, rider four joins after 75 miles and the full team of four rides the last 25 miles together to finish on The Mall.

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic

The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic on the Sunday, is for 150 of the world's top cyclists start from Horse Guards Parade and then follow largely the same route as the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 sportive with an extended route and multiple circuits in and around Dorking to meet international race requirements. The 200 km route is Category 1.HC on the UCI Europe Tour and previous riders have included Sir Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish. The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic will have UCI World status from 2017.

History

Origins

The origins of RideLondon can be traced back to the momentus decision by the IOC on 6 July 2005 in Singapore when London was awarded the rights to stage the 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games. As a result of this win, London opened its roads to cycling in a way that had never been done before. In 2007, London not only hosted the Tour de France Grand Depart to great acclaim, but also closed roads to create a day-long safe cycling environment in the iconic city centre, known at the time as The London Freewheel. This annual one day event continued between 2007-2011 and under the name of Mayor of London's Skyride from 2009.

During this time, London's new major events team based at Visit London (subsequently London & Partners) worked with industry experts, Transport for London and the many different stakeholders within the city to explore the feasibility and subsequently develop a new world-class event for cycling that could one day rival London's most iconic sporting events such as the London Marathon and the Wimbledon Championships. The annual event would include the world's top men, women and hand cyclists racing as part of the international cycling calendar; challenge and inspire people from all backgrounds to get on two wheels; and be an event that the whole city could be proud of and ultimately own.

In late 2011 and early 2012, Mayor Boris Johnson assessed and formerly approved the recommendation to create the event [2] and, at the start of the Olympic year, the search for a suitably qualified and experienced Delivery Partner was launched.[3] After detailed work, a joint venture from the organisers of London Marathon and the Tour of Britain 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 and include a route through the Surrey Hills, which international cyclists would become familiar with at the Olympic Games road race.

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 [4] and called for fans to sign up to the 100-mile challenge. By the time of the announcement of the event's first title sponsor, Prudential, in early 2013 [5] more than 55,000 people had signed up to be one of the first riders to participate in the inaugural Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100, part of the Prudential RideLondon festival weekend with coverage to be broadcast live on BBC and international TV.

The Prudential RideLondon vision was to showcase the capital to nationwide and international audiences and inspire more people to take up regular cycling. Attracting both international and domestic spectator and participant spend, the Prudential RideLondon festival was designed to not only bring associated benefits for the London economy, but to also showcase the great city and promote opportunities for future investment.

2013 Event

In its first year, more than 16,000 people started the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100, more than 50,000 took part in Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle and over 1,000 volunteers helped ensure 99 per cent of participants rated the event as good or excellent.

2014 Event

In 2014, amid driving rain and strong winds caused by the tail end of Hurricane Bertha, over 20,000 completed the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100, with 60,000 taking part in the FreeCycle on a glorious sunny day. In 2014, we expected a record number of more than 95,000 riders to take part in the event. On an economic scale, the projected impact of Prudential RideLondon is worth tens of millions of pounds; this excludes any monies raised for charity and benefits to the wider community. The organisers also set a goal for Prudential RideLondon to become the largest charity fundraising cycle event in the world. In its first year, riders in the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 raised more than £7 million for charity and in 2014, riders raised more than £10 million for charity, setting a new record for a UK one-day cycling event for a second successive year.

2015 Event

In 2015, the route for the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 built on the success of the 2013 and 2014 events. To respond to the huge demand for the event, places were increased by 25 per cent with more than 25,000 riders crossing the Start Line in Queen Elizabeth Park Olympic Park on 2 August.

In 2015, the newest event in the Prudential RideLondon festival of cycling was the 10th Brompton Bicycle World Championship Final, which featured in the Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix races in St James's Park. It was the first time that the Brompton World Championship Final was held in London, and this unique 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 Prudential 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 Prudential 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 Event

In 2016, a new 46 mile event was launched by Bradley Wiggins specifically for newer and younger cyclists. The Prudential 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.

A new format for the Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix was also announced. From 2016 it is to be held at the Lee Valley Velopark in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and include handcycle, junior and BMX races for the first time.

2017 Event

In 2017, the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic will have UCI World status.

Results

Year Men's Elite Women's Elite World Brompton Championship Final
2013Arnaud Démare,  France, FDJ.frLaura Trott,  United Kingdom, Wiggle Honda Held at Orbital Festival, Goodwood Circuit
2014Adam Blythe,  United Kingdom, NFTO Pro Cycling Giorgia Bronzini,  Italy, Wiggle Honda Held at Orbital Festival, Goodwood Circuit
2015Jean Pierre Jempy Drucker,  Luxembourg, BMC Racing Team Barbara Guarischi,  Italy, Velocio-SRAM Mark Emsley,  United Kingdom
2016Tom Boonen,  Belgium, Etixx–Quick-Step team Kirsten Wild,  Netherlands, Team Hitec Products Mark Emsley,  United Kingdom
Grand Prix results
Year Men’s Elite Handcycle Women's Elite Handcycle Men’s Grand Prix Handcycle Women’s Grand Prix Handcycle Youth U16 Men Youth U16 Women Youth U14 Male Youth U14 Female Youth BMX Grand Prix 13-14 Male Youth BMX Grand Prix 13-14 Female
2013 Walter Ablinger,  Austria Andrea Eskau  Germany B. Drewett,  United Kingdom, Fareham Wheelers CC, Eastleigh S. Birchall,  United Kingdom, Lyme Racing Club, Newcastle under Lyme
2014 Walter Ablinger,  Austria E. Hayter,  United Kingdom, London Boys Team S. Capewell,  United Kingdom, West Midlands – Girls Team
2015 Brian Alldis,  United Kingdom J. Stewart,  United Kingdom, West Midlands Region E. Barnwell,  United Kingdom, Wales
2016Rafal Wilk,  Poland Renata Kaluza,  Poland Jonathan Waters,  United Kingdom Jen Warren,  United Kingdom J. Price,  United Kingdom, Wales A. Baker,  United Kingdom, Central Hamish MacLaren,  United Kingdom, Scotland Emma Finucane,  United Kingdom, Wales Luke Mendes,  United Kingdom, Milton Keynes BMX Racing Club Emily Orena  United Kingdom, Hayes Hawks BMX Club
2013 Inaugural Prudential RideLondon results
Men's Elite
Position Rider Team Time[6]
1 Arnaud Démare (FRA)FDJ.fr5:07:43
2 Sacha Modolo (ITA)Bardiani Valvole–CSF Inoxs.t.
3 Yannick Martinez (FRA)La Pomme Marseilles.t.
4 Fabio Sabatini (ITA)Cannondales.t.
5 Danny van Poppel (NED)Vacansoleil–DCMs.t.
6 Zak Dempster (AUS)NetApp–Enduras.t.
7 Raymond Kreder (NED)Garmin–Sharps.t.
8 Christian Delle Stelle (ITA)Bardiani Valvole–CSF Inoxs.t.
9 Christopher Sutton (AUS)Team Skys.t.
10 Ben Swift (GBR)Team Skys.t.
Elite Women

This event was an elite women's criterium road race, first held as part of the festival in 2013. The inaugural race was won by Laura Trott from Hannah Barnes.

Position Rider Time[7]
1 Laura Trott (GBR)45:26
2 Hannah Barnes (GBR)45:27
3 Loren Rowney (AUS)Same time
4 Dani King (GBR)Same time
5 Loes Gunnewijk (NED)Same time
6 Harriet Owen (GBR)Same time
7 Jaqueline Hahn (AUT)Same time
8 Lauren Creamer (GBR)Same time
9 Christiana Perchtold (AUT)45:28
10 Mary Costelloe (IRL)Same time
Handcyclists
Men
Position Rider Time[7]
1 Walter Ablinger (AUT)30:15
2 Brian Aldiss (GBR)30:16
3 Heinz Frei (CHE)30:18
4 Chris Madden (GBR)31:57
5 Alastair Corps-Bell (GBR)33:38
6 Alan Cook (GBR)33:38
7 Justin Davis (GBR)33:40
8 Steve Arnold (GBR)Lapped twice, time not taken
Women
Position Rider Time[7]
1 Andrea Eskau (GER)30:21
2 Karen Drake (GBR)Lapped once, time not taken
3 Liz McTernan (GBR)Lapped once, time not taken
4 Rachel Morris (GBR)Lapped once, time not taken
Youths
U16 Men

top 2

PositionRiderClub, branch Time[7]
1 B. Drewett (GBR)Fareham Wheelers CC, Eastleigh31:08
2 E. Kirkbride (GBR)Border City Wheelers CC, Carlisle31:09
U16 Women

top 2

PositionRiderClub, branch Time[7]
1 S. Birchall (GBR)Lyme Racing Club, Newcastle under Lyme34:03
2 R. Martin (GBR)Ribble Valley Juniors, Kirkham, LancashireSame time

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.