Strong Line Up For RideLondon Classic

28 July 2015 02:28

A stellar line-up will roll out from Horse Guards Parade on Sunday 2 August for the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic in what’s set to be one of the most hotly contested one-day races in the UCI cycling calendar.

The 25 teams competing next Sunday comprise seven UCI WorldTour Teams, 11 UCI Pro Continental Teams, six UCI Continental Teams and a GB Cycling Team.

The UCI WorldTour Teams are: Orica-GreenEDGE, Etixx – Quick-Step, BMC Racing Team, MTN–Qhubeka, Lotto Soudal, Team Sky and Team Lotto NL-Jumbo.

Two of the world’s all-time best sprinters André 'The Gorilla' Greipel (Lotto–Soudal), commanding winner of the final stage of the Tour de France on the Champs-Élysées adding to three other stage wins, and Mark 'The Manx Missile' Cavendish, winner of Stage 7, are certain to be contenders if the race culminates in a bunch sprint on The Mall.

Cavendish will be directed towards the line by his Australian lead-out man, Mark Renshaw and Team Sky sprinter Elia Viviani may also make his presence known in a fast finish – the 26-year-old Italian beat Greipel to bag his first Grand Tour win in stage 2 of the Giro d'Italia in May.

One-day Classics specialists Sep Vanmarcke (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Belgian legend Tom Boonen (Etixx – Quick Step) will be intent on making their mark in the 200km race. Boonen is one of the most successful Classics cyclists currently racing, with three wins in the Tour of Flanders and four in Paris-Roubaix to his name.

Also in the mix will be Sir Bradley Wiggins (Team Wiggins), who makes a rare appearance on the road, and former World Road Race Champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC), who staged an impressive return to form after fracturing his tibia in April with victory in last week’s Grand Prix Cerami in Belgium.

Reigning Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic champion Adam Blythe (Orica-GreenEDGE), whose win last year propelled him back into the WorldTour, will once again take on fellow Sheffield-born Ben Swift (Team Sky). Blythe held off Swift in a sprint finish to win last year’s race after racing for nearly five hours in epic conditions.

“This is without doubt the best field ever assembled in the UK for a one-day Classic,” said Mick Bennett, Race Director of the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic. “It’s fantastic for British cycling fans to be able to watch the superstars of cycling race through this wonderful route in London and Surrey. We are set for something very special.”

The third edition of the race, rated Category 1.HC on the UCI Europe Tour, will start at the iconic location of Horse Guards Parade in central London before going out through the capital to Kingston upon Thames, Hampton Court and then over the River Thames into Surrey. After 57km of racing, the first challenge the riders will face is the 2.4km climb of Staple Lane in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The peloton will then race through Dorking before taking the southern approach to the ascent of Leith Hill, the highest point in Surrey. With a further three circuits (one more than last year) of a loop through Dorking and up the testing 6.7% climb to Ranmore Common, this year’s race is set to be a true classic.

The riders will then race up the famous zigzags of Box Hill, through Leatherhead, Oxshott and Esher before returning back through Kingston upon Thames. From there the peloton heads towards central London, through Raynes Park, Wimbledon, over Putney Bridge and alongside the River Thames through Chelsea. The closing stages of the race go through Parliament Square and up Whitehall to the famous 1km-to-go marker from Trafalgar Square through Admiralty Arch, where the riders will start the final sprint along The Mall towards Buckingham Palace and the Finish Line.

The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic is the fifth and final event of Prudential RideLondon, the world’s greatest festival of cycling. More than 95,000 riders will participate in the five events over the weekend of 1-2 August.

An extensive communications campaign is underway to help businesses and the public plan ahead and get around on the day. This includes a leaflet drop this month to 1 million+ residents and businesses along the route, drop-in sessions for local people and community access plans.

Source: DSG