UCI Hour Record holder Sir Bradley Wiggins will join Mark Cavendish on the start-line for the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic on Sunday August 2.
Cavendish had already been confirmed for the UCI Europe Tour race, where he will lead Etixx-QuickStep, and organisers have now confirmed Sir Brad, racing for his eponymous new team, will join him on the St James Park startline.
In what will be Wiggins’ first UK race since his hour record heroics, the two leading Brits will be joined by 148 other riders (25 teams of six in total), on the re-worked 200km route.
Rolling out from Horse Guards Parade for the first time, the race – with the largest prize fund of any one-day race in the world – will once again head out into the Surrey Hills, with Staple Lane, Leith Hill, Box Hill and Ranmore Common all featuring.
A grandstand finish on The Mall will once again conclude the race and Wiggins is relishing the occasion having ridden for Team Sky in the event last year.
“It’s always fantastic to race on home roads and this race is very special,” he said. “My team is really looking forward to it.
“I was amazed how many people were out watching last year in that appalling weather. The whole Prudential RideLondon festival shows how much cycling has grown in this country.”
The race is the fifth and final event of the Festival, which includes the RideLondon 100 sportive and an elite women’s criterium race.
And Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Huge crowds will once again line the capital’s streets this August to roar on some of the world’s top cyclists. I’m sure British fans will be shouting even louder at the sight of former Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins shooting past our grand landmarks.
“London continues to showcase its ability to host world-leading sporting and cultural events, and Prudential RideLondon is yet another one of our superb showpieces that helps to attract tourists, drive the economy and inspire people of all ages and backgrounds on to their bikes.
“It’s a festival of cycling that caters for everyone, whether you are a top professional, a committed daily commuter who loves riding their bike or a family looking forward to a leisurely day’s cycling along some of the capital’s most famous streets.”
