Prudential RideLondon, the world’s greatest festival of cycling, returns over the weekend of 29-31 July. With more than 100,000 riders expected to participate in seven events, the festival offer spectators a huge choice of places to enjoy the action with the chance to cheer on the superstars of cycling, including three time Tour de France winner Chris Froome, or to support friends and family taking on the challenge of the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 or 46.
WHERE TO WATCH
FRIDAY 29 JULY
A third day has been added to the world’s greatest festival of cycling this year with a packed programme of racing at Lee Valley VeloPark, featuring handcycling, youths and BMX. In addition to the competition, there will be a Festival Zone featuring a range of bike-based entertainment and the legendary stunt cyclist Danny MacAskill, who brings his world famous Drop and Roll Tour, sponsored by Continental Tyres, which features the world’s top street trials rider performing breathtaking stunts on a state-of-the-art custom built rig. The action starts at 13:00 and runs to 20:30.
Entry is free – a great day out for the family.
SATURDAY 30 JULY
Head to St James’s Park and Westminster to line the route for the Prudential RideLondon Classique, the richest one-day race in the history of women’s cycling.
Now a women’s UCI WorldTour event, the Prudential RideLondon Classique will feature the world’s top twenty women’s teams racing twelve laps of a spectacular new 5.5km circuit in central London. The circuit begins on The Mall in St James’s Park, goes up Constitution Hill, turning at the top to come down and onto Birdcage Walk, then passes Big Ben and turns 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.
Racing starts at 17:00 and will finish at about 18:45. The action will be televised live on BBC 2.
Racing continues at 19:15 with the fun of the Brompton World Championship Final as 500+ riders in an extraordinary range of outfits (no lycra allowed) begin the race with the scramble of a Le Mans-style start to unfold their bikes and race eight laps of a circuit of St James’s Park.
SUNDAY 31 JULY
There are three events taking place on Sunday.
26,000+ amateur riders will start at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from 06:00 – 09:00 in the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 mass sportive that last year raised a record-breaking £12 million for charity. They will be followed by 3,500+ amateur riders, mostly novices, undertaking the new Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46, designed as the ideal first mass participation sportive. Then 25 teams of the world’s top men, featuring many stars from the Tour de France - including three-time winner Froome, sprinter Andre Greipel, Michael Matthews, Tom Boonen and Froome's Rio GB teammates Geraint Thomas, Ian Stannard and Steve Cummings - race in the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic, starting in Horse Guards Parade at 13:15 and televised on BBC TV.
Here are some of the best places to watch the action:
KINGSTON UPON THAMES
The riverside town of Kingston is a great location to spend the last day of the world’s greatest festival of cycling as it is the only town on the route through which the cyclists ride twice.
The excitement will begin as the thousands of amateur cyclists start to stream through the town from 07:00. In the early afternoon, the 150 top professional cyclists will race through the town in the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic, returning again later as the peloton heads back to central London and the finish.
The Kingston Bike Festival will provide a huge range of activities and events for all the family throughout the day as the town celebrates the bicycle. The Action Sports BMX Display Team will perform in the Market Place, demonstrating the thrills and excitement of this rapidly growing sport. There will be a big screen here so that visitors can relax at the bars and cafes and watch all the action from BBC TV’s coverage.
There’s plenty more to enjoy on Clarence Street and Wood Street, with the Continental tyres photo booth, pedal powered smoothie bikes, children’s rides and a local food market. There will also be a live DJ and music from Puncture Kit, the cycling drummer.
When the riders arrive:
07:00-16:20 Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 / 46
13:45 & 17:35 Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic
WEST BYFLEET LI:VE West Byfleet Recreation Ground once again hosts West Byfleet LI:VE. This community organised festival is a great place to watch all the day’s action. Cheer on the cyclists from the roadside and then pop into the recreation ground to watch all the action live on the big screen along with a family fun fair, children’s games and food stalls.
When the riders arrive:
07:20-11:40 Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100
14:15 Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic
CELEBRATE PYRFORD
This festival takes place every year at Pyrford Cricket Club and again celebrates Prudential RideLondon. There will be a cycle track with bikes for visitors to have a go, lots of different fun activities for all ages, including a giant slide, a bungee run, bouncy castles for adults and children and live music, it’s a great place to take the family. Visit www.celebratepyrford.moonfruit.com to find out more.
When the riders arrive:
07:30-12:00 Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100
14:25 Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic
DORKING
Dorking town centre will be one of the best locations on the entire route to view the action. The 26,000+ riders in the sportive will start streaming along the High Street from 08:30 with the last riders reaching the town just before 14:30. Then spectators will have the chance to cheer on the peloton from the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic as it races through Dorking five times on the circuits through the Surrey Hills. There will be two big screens showing the live BBC TV coverage and children’s street entertainment. The shops, cafes and restaurants in the town will be open, offering a great range of dining and refreshment options.
When the riders arrive:
08:30-14:30 Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100
15:00-17:00 Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic
LEATHERHEAD
The town centre will be open for business as usual and a big screen will be located outside the Swan Centre so that visitors can relax at the cafes and restaurants to watch all the action from BBC TV’s coverage.
There will also be a activity from Rollapaluza – a static race bike challenge - along with the chance to support riders in the sportive as they stop for drinks and refreshments at the Swan Centre – 25 miles from the Finish Line on The Mall. It will be a fantastic location to cheer on both the amateur and professional cyclists.
When the riders arrive:
08:50-15:35 Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100
17:10 Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic
WIMBLEDON
When the riders reach Wimbledon, it’s less than ten miles to the finish line. The Love Wimbledon street party will once again take place on Wimbledon Hill Road with thousands of spectators expected to line the street and cheer the riders up the last climb on the route.
There’ll be displays from the Extreme Wheels BMX team and the chance to try out a range of different bikes and trikes at the CTC Freecycle stand plus live music, face painting, street entertainment and street food. Visit www.lovewimbledon.org to find out more.
When the riders arrive:
09:30-16:50 Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100
17:50 Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic
There are also a number of official venues located around the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey route, including pubs and cafes, offering the perfect setting to cheer on charity fundraisers or watch the professional race. These include pubs in Norbiton, Kingston, Hampton Wick, Guildford, Dorking, Oxshott, Esher, Surbiton, Raynes Park, Wimbledon, Pimlico and Chelsea. The full list is available at www.PrudentialRideLondon.co.uk/community
For information on how to get to Prudential RideLondon events, go to www.tfl.gov.uk/ridelondon
The organisers of the weekend festival of cycling are delivering 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 includes pre-awareness campaign posters on the transport network, a series of customer information emails and a leaflet drop this month 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.