From 2022, RideLondon will change route and take place in the spring rather than its usual August date, organisers announced today.
A new contract between Transport for London (TfL) and London Marathon Events (LME) will see the popular annual cycling festival continue from 2022 to 2031.
However, the future of the RideLondon 100 sportive remains unclear. Surrey County Council voted against allowing the closed-road ride to be routed through the county, placing the majority of the sportive course - including the iconic Box Hill and Leith Hill climbs - off limits.
"Work is now ongoing with stakeholders to explore options for new routes in 2022 and future years," say TfL.
"LME is currently looking for a new title sponsor for this important event in London's world class events programme. Full details of the new routes for 2022 will be announced in due course."
The 2020 RideLondon festival was cancelled due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. A virtual event held in its place raised more than £3 million for charities.
The 2021 event has also been cancelled due to the pandemic.
The new partnership with LME, which will run until 2031, will shape the event for the future, with TfL hailing "a greater focus on inspiring Londoners from all backgrounds to start take up cycling as part of their daily lives."
"Next year, the festival will take place over one day in the spring with an exciting consolidated format allowing even more families to take part," say TfL.
"The spring event will also inspire more people to continue cycling through from spring into summer, which is typically the most popular time of year for cycling in the capital, and maintain the momentum to cycle all year round.
"The festival is a hugely popular part of London's event calendar and is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors from across London and the UK, helping to boost trade at local high streets and sustain the region's economic recovery from coronavirus."
Will Norman, London's Walking and Cycling Commissioner, said: "RideLondon is one of the highlights of the year, so I'm really pleased that we have secured this 10 year partnership. Like many Londoners, I have really missed the real-life event so I'm delighted that the new, more family-focused format, along with the RideLondon Classique women's professional race, will help RideLondon bounce back with a bang next year."
TfL and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, have worked closely with boroughs right across the capital over the past five years to deliver extra space for walking and cycling at record pace.
100km of new and upgraded routes have been delivered, or are under construction, in the past year alone, transforming streets to support continued increases in the numbers of people getting around the capital by bike.
During the first lockdown between April and June last year, nearly half of all journeys in London were made by walking and cycling, up from 29 per cent before the pandemic.
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