Prudential Ridelondon Is the World S Greatest Festival of Cycling, Developed by the Mayor

Prudential RideLondon is the world’s greatest festival of cycling, developed by the Mayor of London and his agencies in partnership with Surrey County Council.

Staged for the first time in August 2013, it is the largest festival of cycling in the world with more than 100,000 participants expected to cycle more than three million miles during the weekend of 28-30 July 2017.

It combines the fun of a free family ride in central London with the excitement of watching the world’s best professional cyclists. Amateur cyclists participate by riding a 100-mile or 46-mile challenge on the same closed roads as the professional road race, raising millions for good causes.

The men’s professional race, the Classic, will be a UCI WorldTour event – the highest grading on the world cycling calendar – for 2017, matching the World Tour status of the women’s race, the Classique.

Continuing Prudential RideLondon’s commitment to gender parity, both the men’s and professional races have the same prize pot, with both being the richest one-day races in the world.

Building on a successful introduction to the Prudential RideLondon schedule in 2017, the festival will open on Friday 28 July with events for handcyclists, youths and BMX riders at the Lee Valley VeloPark in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Prudential RideLondon 2017 comprises the following events:

Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix, Friday 28 July 2017

·  Two handcycle races: the Prudential RideLondon Handcycle Grand Prix for injured veteran servicemen and women and the Prudential RideLondon Elite Handcycle Grand Prix for top international handcyclists

·  The Prudential RideLondon Youths Grand Prix: a programme of four races with a boys and girls race for the Youth B category (open to riders aged U14) and a boys and girls race for the Youth A category (open to riders aged U16)

·  The Prudential RideLondon BMX Grand Prix for boys and girls in four age categories (for riders aged U8, 9-10 years, 11-12 years and 13-14 years)

Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle, Saturday 29 July 2017: Offers the chance for all the family to enjoy a traffic-free route on closed roads through central London passing some of the capital’s most iconic landmarks. Everyone is welcome, no matter what their age or ability. Cyclists may cycle at any pace and as many times round the route as they like, stopping along the way to enjoy a range of free bike-based entertainment and activities at seven Festival Zones. Cyclists are encouraged to register in advance at www.PrudentialRideLondon.co.uk/FreeCycle

Prudential RideLondon Classique, Saturday 29 July 2017: The richest women’s one-day race in cycling offers exactly the same prize money as its men’s equivalent, the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic. It is part of the UCI Women’s WorldTour and gives spectators the chance to see the best women’s cycling teams in the world battling it out over 12 laps of a closed 5.5km circuit that starts and finishes on The Mall.

Brompton World Championship Final: Saturday 29 July 2017: The 12th Brompton World Championship will see more than 500 riders make a mad dash to unfold their bikes before sprinting off on two wheels to complete up to eight laps around St James’s Park.

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100, Sunday 30 July 2017: Approximately 25,000 amateur cyclists will take on a cycling challenge like no other through London and Surrey on a similar route to that of the London 2012 Olympic road races. The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 starts in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, goes out through London to Surrey’s stunning country roads and hills before returning to the capital to finish in spectacular style on The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace.

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46, Sunday 30 July 2017: The ‘46’ proved a popular new addition to Prudential RideLondon last year and is set to build on that success in 2017. It was created specifically for newer and younger cyclists to encourage them to enter their first mass-participation cycling event and enjoy the freedom and camaraderie of Prudential RideLondon. Like the 100, it starts in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and finishes on The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace. About 5,000 cyclists are set to take part in the 46 in 2017.

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic, Sunday 30 July 2017: For the first time ever, the Classic has been designated at UCI WorldTour race for 2017, meaning it is ranked in the highest tier of races on the globe. The Classic has been blessed with some of the best riders in the world since its first edition in 2013, but WorldTour status will ensure 2017 will be its strongest field yet. The peloton will start from Horse Guards Parade and racing over much of the same route as the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100, with extended circuits of testing terrain to meet international race requirements. Live coverage of the race will be shown on BBC TV on Sunday 30 July.

Where

Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix will take place on the road circuit and BMX track at LeeValley VeloPark in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle will take place on closed roads in central London.

Prudential RideLondon Classique will take place on a spectacular 5.5km circuit in central London, beginning on The Mall in St James’s Park, going up Constitution Hill, turning at the top to come down and on to Birdcage Walk, then passing Big Ben and turning left on to Whitehall and right on to the Strand before turning again to come back up the Strand, through Trafalgar Square, Admiralty Arch and back on to The Mall.

Brompton World Championship Final starts and finishes on The Mall and includes up to eight laps of St James Park.

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 will take place on closed roads in London and Surrey. The sportive will start at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London before heading through the capital and out into the Surrey countryside and returning to the finish on The Mall. There will be road closures, bus diversions and parking restrictions.

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46 takes place on traffic-free roads, starting at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London immediately after the last start wave of the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100, and finishing on The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace. It will send riders along Hampton Court Way. Local access to and from Thames Ditton via Embercourt Road will be maintained all day on Sunday 30 July. There will be road closures, bus diversions and parking restrictions.

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic will take place on an extended version of the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 route. Starting from Horse Guards Parade in central London, the professional cyclists will race out through the capital and into Surrey to the testing climbs of Leith Hill and Box Hill before heading back to the finish on The Mall. There will be road closures, bus diversions and parking restrictions.

Visit www.PrudentialRideLondon.co.uk for more information

When (all timings subject to change)

Friday 28 July

13:00 – 19:00 Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix

Saturday 29 July

09:00 – 16:00: Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle

17:00 – 18:45: Prudential RideLondon Classique

19:15: Brompton World Championship Final

Sunday 30 July

05:45 – 09:00 start: Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100

09:00 – 10:00 start: Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46

13:15 start: Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic

Who

Prudential RideLondon is an annual world-class festival of cycling developed by the Mayor of London, London & Partners and Transport for London in partnership with Surrey County Council and sponsored by Prudential. The event is managed by the London & Surrey Cycling Partnership.