2020 Prudential RideLondon cancelled

The 2020 Prudential RideLondon festival of cycling has been cancelled.

This decision has been taken by London authorities after engagement with partners involved in the planning of the event.

Many other cycling events have also been cancelled or postponed, including the Tour of Britain, however the 2020 Tour de France is set to take place from 29th August to 20th September.

Will Norman, the mayor’s walking and cycling commissioner, said: “RideLondon has been one of the highlights of the capital’s event calendar for the last seven years, so it is obviously disappointing that it cannot be staged this year.

“This summer we hope that millions of Londoners will alter their travel habits by making journeys by bike instead of driving or using public transport. But it is absolutely the right decision to cancel this year’s event to ensure the safety of everyone involved and we all look forward to welcoming RideLondon back again in the near future.

“The Mayor and I would like to thank Prudential, in their final year as title sponsors, for their support over the last seven years. We are already excited about the next RideLondon event.”

The eighth edition of the festival of cycling was scheduled to take place on the weekend of 15th-16th August and feature four mass participation events: the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 19, 46 and 100 sportives, plus Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle, the free-for-all event that invites cyclists to pedal around seven miles of traffic-free roads in central London.

It was also due to feature two professional races: the UCI WorldTour Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic and Prudential RideLondon Classique, in addition to the Prudential RideLondon Cycling Show at ExCeL London and the Brompton World Championship Final.

Hugh Brasher, event director of Prudential RideLondon, added: “We know how disappointing this news will be to the tens of thousands of riders who were hoping to participate in one of the fantastic events in the world’s greatest festival of cycling, for the thousands of charities that would have benefited from fundraising and for the world’s best professional cyclists who love racing on the streets of London and Surrey, but I am sure everyone will understand why this decision has been made.

“All participants and charities that bought places in the 2020 Prudential RideLondon will be refunded their entry fee in full. We are currently working with Prudential and the Mayor’s Office to see how we can celebrate the event weekend of 15th-16th August.

“2021 will be the first year of a new contract to deliver RideLondon and, with the current unknowns about the short-term future for mass participation events and the importance of inspiring as many people as possible to cycle more often, we’re taking the opportunity to fully review the format and timing of the event over the next few months.”

In its first seven editions, Prudential RideLondon has had 100,000 riders of all ages and abilities participating in seven different events on traffic-free roads in London and Surrey. It has inspired hundreds of thousands of people to take up cycling or cycle more often and a total of more than £77 million has been raised for thousands of charities.

“We know that there will be many, many questions from riders, charities and others and we ask you to please bear with us as we work through all the detail,” added Brasher. “We expect to be in a position to provide full updates to participants and charities by the middle of June. We will also post regular updates on our website and social media channels.”