Team Sky’s Ben Swift rode alongside some 2,500 amateur riders at yesterday’s London Cycle Sportive.
The former world scratch race champion, an ambassador for the charity, Access Sport, rode the event with his father and thousands of participants, on a route from south London to the Kent and Surrey countryside.
Herne Hill velodrome hosted the finish, with sportivists completing a lap of a circuit built for the 1948 Olympic Games.
Swift said: “It was an amazing sight to see so many cyclists at the start line.
“I cycled with my dad and we really enjoyed it; the route was really scenic and there were a few tough climbs thrown in, which was great for my training.”
The Rotherham-born rider will return to action at the Tour of Poland on July 27, where he won two stages last year.
Yesterday’s first edition of the London Cycle Sportive saw riders roll out from Dulwich Park on routes of 50km, 100km, and 100 miles.
All three routes offered views from the North Downs of the surrounding Kent and Surrey countryside.
Riders who tackled the 100km and 100-mile routes climbed Titsey Hill and braved the descent of Tandridge Hill.
The 100-mile route led riders into the lanes of Surrey, south of Reigate and up Pitch Hill, and up the climbs of Combe Bottom and White Down, en route to Ranmore Common and West Humble.
The 100-milers rejoined the route of the 100km ride before Box Hill, the Surrey climb made famous by last year’s Olympic road race, before making their way to the final Olympic venue, the velodrome at Herne Hill.
The event was backed by the Financial Times and supported the charity, Access Sport, which had 200 riders among the ‘peloton’.
Event organisers, Human Race, will host the Wiggle Etape Cymru on Sunday September 8, 2013.
