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Insurance company Prudential sponsored a UK stage race – the PruTour – in 1998 and 1999 and has now returned to cycling by becoming headline sponsor of the RideLondon Olympic legacy event to be held in August, a family-friendly ride around iconic London destinations on closed roads. Up to 70,000 people are expected to take part. The Prudential RideLondon Freecycle will be held on Saturday 3rd August and is an eight-mile mass-participation ride. A weekend of rides – a festival of cycling – will be televised by the BBC in the style of broadcasts of the London Marathon.
There will also be a Prudential RideLondon Classic pro race and the Prudential RideLondon 100 sportive, also to be televised.
The pro and sportive events will be staged on part of the route used in the Olympic road race last summer, including Richmond Park and Box Hill.
The sponsorship deal with Prudential was announced this morning at a press conference hosted by London mayor Boris Johnson. He said:
“Following the superhuman efforts of our Team GB cyclists last year, thousands of cycling enthusiasts, both experienced and amateur, riding a fantastic route through the streets of our fine city is surely a fitting legacy.
"Prudential RideLondon is sure to become one of the world’s top cycling events.”
The event is being organised by London and Surrey Cycling Partnership, a joint venture between SweetSpot, organisers of the Tour of Britain, and the organising company behind the London Marathon.
Pictured: Boris, Laura Trott and Tidjane Thiam with children from Field End Junior School
