A third day has been added to Prudential RideLondon, the world’s greatest festival of cycling, with a programme packed with exciting competition and free family entertainment on Friday 29 July at the Lee Valley VeloPark in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
This is the first time that events will be held on the Friday of the festival, now in its fourth year, and adds BMX racing to the Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix programme.
Legendary stunt rider Danny MacAskill, whose videos are watched by audiences of 20+ million on YouTube, will perform in the Festival Zone.
Racing will take place on the Lee Valley VeloPark road circuit and BMX track with family entertainment in the Festival Zone. Entry is free of charge.
The programme for the Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix runs from 1300 – 2100 and includes:
· 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 Youths 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)
· Danny MacAskill brings his world famous Drop and Roll Tour, sponsored by Continental Tyres, to the Festival Zone and features the world’s top street trials rider performing breathtaking stunts on a state-of-the-art custom built rig
· The Festival Zone will also feature other family-friendly activations that will then move to other locations on Saturday 30 July for the crowds to enjoy during Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Sport is a fantastic way of bringing communities together and my team at City Hall will do all we can to enable and encourage more people to participate and compete at every level. This extra day of the Prudential RideLondon festival illustrates that aim by bringing a fabulous mix of young riders, BMX and handcyclists together. We hope it will inspire many more people from many different communities to take to two wheels.”
John Foley, Chief Executive of Prudential UK & Europe, said: “Now in its fourth year, Prudential RideLondon has grown to become the world’s greatest cycling festival and one of Britain’s largest charity fundraising opportunities.
“The addition of a third day of activities will further increase the diversity of exciting displays and events for people of all ages and abilities to enjoy.”
Hugh Brasher, Event Director for Prudential RideLondon, said: “In Olympic year, it is very fitting that this hugely successful legacy event should feature competition in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The addition of BMX to the programme brings a different genre of cycling to the festival. The Youths races will feature a new generation of riders, many of whom will have been inspired by watching London 2012, and the added day means that the handcycle races will now be showcased as a highlight of the programme.”
The full programme for Prudential RideLondon 2016 comprises seven events and more than 100,000 riders will participate over the three days:
Friday 29 July
Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix featuring handcycling, youths and BMX racing
Saturday 30 July
Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle
Prudential RideLondon Classique
Brompton World Championship Final
Sunday 31 July
Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100
Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46
Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic
The organisers of the weekend festival of cycling will deliver an extensive community engagement programme with the support of TfL, the London boroughs on the route and Surrey County Council to help residents and businesses along the route plan ahead. This will include pre-awareness campaign posters on the transport network, a series of customer information emails and a leaflet drop in July to 1 million+ residents and businesses along the route. Information on travel disruption and advice will be available on www.tfl.gov.uk/ridelondon. To avoid delays over the event weekend, all drivers are advised to avoid areas near the event routes.