RideLondon: thousands take part in mass cycling event after two-year absence

The mass cycling event billed as the London Marathon on two wheels has returned after a Covid-enforced hiatus – with a new destination and, organisers say, a field of riders notably and deliberately more diverse than in previous years.

RideLondon, launched in 2013 as a weekend of cycling events covering both elite sport and mass participation, has proved hugely popular, but was cancelled in 2020 and last year due to the pandemic.

Sunday saw the return of both the “freecycle” family ride along an eight-mile traffic-free route in central London, and more taxing 30-, 60- and 100-mile rides out of the capital into the Essex countryside, with 22,600 riders starting the Essex rides.

Ride London always features a professional race, which this year was a women’s world tour event held over three days from Friday.

From 2013 to 2019, RideLondon headed into Surrey, but the county council decided to withdraw cooperation over the impact of road closures, despite a referendum of residents finding support for it to continue.

The change of destination to Essex allowed the route to be revamped to include wider roads and fewer twisty descents to avoid incidents such as in 2016 when thousands of riders were diverted after one participant was seriously injured in a crash.

Sunday’s 100-mile event saw one significant delay, when an air ambulance was called for a rider who had seemingly suffered a heart attack, but after he was taken to hospital the field was able to continue without any diversions. The rider is understood to be stable in hospital.

The event formerly started at the Olympic Park in east London, but now begins at Embankment in the centre of the city. With the usual finishing point of the Mall inaccessible due to platinum jubilee