TfL Press Release - The world’s greatest festival of cycling is set to return to London for the next 10 years

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and TfL have announced that London Marathon Events Ltd (LMEL) has been appointed to deliver RideLondon, the world’s greatest festival of cycling, from 2021 to 2030.

The appointment follows a competitive tender process, managed by Transport for London on behalf of the Mayor, to ensure the event can continue to be delivered at no cost to London or the tax payer.

RideLondon, sponsored since its inception by Prudential, was developed in 2012-2013 and is now established as the world's greatest festival of cycling. Each year thousands of riders raise millions for good causes, with more than £66 million raised in the first six years of the event. The seventh edition of the event will take place over the weekend of 3-4 August 2019.

The programme currently features seven different events, ranging from FreeCycle - which offers riders of all ages and abilities the opportunity to enjoy cycling on traffic-free roads through the centre of London - mass participation rides over 19, 46 and 100 miles through London and Surrey, the Brompton World Championships Final and UCI WorldTour races for the world’s top professional male and female cyclists. Television coverage of the event is broadcast worldwide with more than five hours live coverage on BBC TV in the UK.

An extensive consultation programme with partners and stakeholders, including Surrey County Council, the London boroughs, The Royal Parks and others, is now underway to develop the routes and format for RideLondon for the first five years of the new contract period.

RideLondon is recognised as the most successful sporting legacy from the London 2012 Games, which has already inspired hundreds of thousands of people to get back on two wheels or cycle more often. New 2018 data shows that cycling in London is at record levels with the average daily total distance cycled exceeding four million kilometres for the first time.

Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, said: “RideLondon is the world’s greatest festival of cycling. It’s open to Londoners of all ages and abilities. From building confidence in new cyclists, to enabling more experienced riders to push themselves, and offering a chance to cheer on the professionals – there is something for everyone to enjoy. I’m delighted that London will continue to host this fantastic event which will help build on our record cycling figures.”

Julie Dixon, TfL’s Head of Partnerships, said: “Prudential RideLondon has been one of the highlights of the capital’s event calendar for seven years and has encouraged hundreds of thousands of people to cycle more. We are delighted that Londoners will be able to celebrate cycling and enjoy traffic-free streets across central London for years to come.”

Surrey County Council leader Tim Oliver, said: “Surrey continues to welcome Prudential RideLondon riders to our beautiful county.  We thank the event not only for the economic benefits it brings to the county and for putting Surrey firmly on the cycling map but for the millions of pounds raised for charity over the years by the riders. We also acknowledge and thank the patience of residents and our hardworking volunteers for making  this event possible. Later this year we will be consulting with residents to gain their opinions on possible alternative routes and formats for continuing this legacy beyond 2021.”

Hugh Brasher, Event Director for London Marathon Events, said: “We are very proud of our partnership with SweetSpot in creating and developing Prudential RideLondon and establishing it as the world’s greatest festival of cycling. We look forward to developing the event further over the new contract period and continuing to play a key role in inspiring people from all demographics, genders and abilities to get on their bikes to improve their physical and mental health as well as help to reduce the amount of motor traffic on our roads, thus improving the quality of our air.”

Prudential RideLondon, the world’s greatest festival of cycling, will return to London and Surrey this weekend and TfL is encouraging Londoners to make the most of traffic free streets and join in with a number of events planned across the 3 and 4 August.

Prudential RideLondon is now in its seventh year and there will be a wide range of events taking place across both Saturday and Sunday including a 19-mile event, which is open to cyclists aged 12 and upwards and which has been created to encourage the next generation of London and Surrey cyclists.

The FreeCycle event on Saturday will see a seven-mile traffic-free circuit, passing London landmarks including Buckingham Palace and St. Paul’s Cathedral, open to cyclists of all ages and abilities. Rides led by an experienced cyclist from London Cycling Campaign will be travelling to the event from every London borough, making it even easier to get to central London to take part. Last year, more than 70,000 people cycled along the FreeCycle circuit.

Dr Ashok Sinha, Chief Executive, London Cycling Campaign, said: “Every day, more and more people are enjoying using London’s expanding network of safe, protected cycleways; Ride London is a fantastic way for people of all ages and abilities to come together for two days to celebrate this transition that London is making into a greener and healthier city, where cycling is the natural choice for everyday journeys. LCC looks forward to continuing our support for the event by providing family-friendly feeder rides to Freecycle from all over London for another ten years.”

Free festival zones with music and entertainment will be open at six locations along the route and bike mechanics will be on hand in case of any technical problems.

On Sunday, thousands of amateur cyclists will be raising money for charity by taking part in the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100, 46 and 19 cycling events.

This year, the event will be going single use plastic water bottle free for the first time, with participants encouraged to bring their own bottle to be refilled at one of the Thames Water fountains in the Festival Zones.