London hosts UK’s biggest ever cycling event

As part of the Prudential RideLondon weekend four separate events were staged to appeal to cyclists of all ages and abilities.

London mayor Boris Johnson and our own Krishnan Guru Murthy are among thousands taking part in a 100-mile road race today.

The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 saw around 50,000 cyclists taking part on a route that starts in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London before taking them into the Surrey countryside.

So embarrassing when somebody turns up in the same dress pic.twitter.com/3olXAUIWkh

— Krishnan Guru-Murthy (@krishgm) August 4, 2013

The event finishes on The Mall before 150 professional cyclists race in the inaugural Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic on a similar route.

Organisers hope the two-day festival will boost the number of active cyclists in the UK, attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to London and Surrey, and raise large amounts of money for charity.

Olympic gold medal winning cyclist Joanna Rowsell said she was “gutted” after she broke her collar bone during a race around St James’s Park.

Writing on Twitter, she announced: “Well this is far from ideal.. In hospital with a broken collar bone. Thank you for all the messages. I will bounce back!”

She added this morning: “Absolutely gutted to be missing the @RideLondon 100 today for @actionmedres. Massive good luck to everyone riding. Will be an amazing day.”

The Grand Prix event saw competitors race a circuit was won by Rowsell’s teammate Laura Trott, who said afterwards: “This feels like my event, so I felt I had to win. I’m so glad I did.”

The Grand Prix also saw a contest between the world’s top young cyclists and the capital’s Paralympic legacy was celebrated with a handcycle race.

Organisers hope the festival will boost the number of cyclists in the UK as well as attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors to London and Surrey, while raising large amounts of money for charity.