On Saturday May 8th, for three months only, the Rapha Cycle Club will open in London. A unique combination of gallery, shop and café, the Cycle Club will be place where fans of cycle road racing can get their fix of riding, style and culture whilst enjoying a cup of Rapha blend coffee.
A full calendar of events is planned including film and music evenings, book and product launches, evening screenings of races, regular group rides and Rapha customer and club evenings to enable visitors to immerse themselves in road cycling throughout the summer.
Important road races will be screened live, starting with the Giro d’Italia on the 8th May and followed by the Tour of California, the Dauphine Libere, the Tour of Switzerland and the Tour de France. Three consecutive exhibitions will be at the heart of the Cycle Club this summer, with a Fausto Coppi exhibition in May and one on the col du Tourmalet, with the original notebooks of Alphonse Steines, in June .
In July, while attention on the main floor of the club turns to the 104th Tour de France, the Rapha Cycle Club will present an exhibition of vintage racing bikes where 10 original bikes from the last 100 years will be exhibited, offering a rare insight into the technology that has carried Tour riders to victory over the years.
Simon Mottram, Rapha founder, commented on the reason for creating the Cycle Club:
“Long frustrated at having nowhere to watch racing or share the love of the sport with others, we have conceived the Rapha Cycle Club as the place we would most like to hang out in the summer. We are looking forward to meeting like minded fans, riding and watching the racing, consuming cycling culture, surrounded by beautiful things. This is the ultimate Rapha experience.”
An extensive range of Rapha products including a limited edition collection of items created especially for the Cycle Club will be available for purchase. A Rapha blend of coffee will be available in the café along with cakes and cycling-related food such as a specially created fruit and nut bar. Rapha’s café partner, Nude Espresso, was voted Independent Café of the Year by the Café Society and has built a reputation making the best coffee and blends.
The Rapha Cycle Club is open from Saturday 8th May until Saturday 31st July. Membership is free; the only qualification is an interest in the sport of cycle road racing.
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm
Saturday 10am to 8pm
Sunday 10am to 4pm
Rapha Cycle Club, 146-148 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1R 5DG
A further Rapha Cycle Club will open in July in New York City and will run until the end of September.
