If you had missed this news from earlier this week, the London Duathlon, billed as the world’s largest running-cum-cycling event supposed to take place at the Richmond Park on 8 September has been cancelled by the organisers, citing “a number of unforeseen factors this year” and “an increased focus on the security and logistics of cycling events in public spaces” as the reasons.
The event saw participation of around 4,000 people run and cycle the event distance last year. In the previous years, Richmond Park has been closed off to motor traffic to facilitate the event.
The news came after the somewhat controversial cancellation of the smaller-clubs organised early-morning cycling time trials this summer, following the announcement that the Royal Parks, the charity responsible for maintaining London’s parks, was reviewing its cycling policy, claiming these events “directly encourage cyclists to go faster than the 20mph speed limits”.
The news wasn’t well-received by many cyclists, at a time when organising cycling events such as time trials has admittedly become harder. Now, London Cycling Campaign has hit back at the Royal Parks for the cancellation of Duathlon over safety concerns, but allowing drivers nonetheless to use the parks as through roads.
“We're disappointed, yet again, by the behaviour of Royal Parks charity. Having Regent’s & Richmond Park as daily rat-runs while cancelling London Duathlon is weak,” the campaign said.
Tom Fyans, London Cycling Campaign’s CEO, speaking to ITV said that while he agrees that cyclists should stick to speed limits, he believed that cancelling the London Duathlon had little to do with safety.
He said: “It feels like a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. There needs to be a conversation with Royal Parks about how cyclists and other park users can co-exist, and how we can make it a safer place for everybody, including from cars and drivers that are allowed in the Royal Parks at the moment.”
> Cycling group and Royal Parks disagree over cyclist speed limit advice in Richmond Park
The sentiment seems to be shared by other cyclists on social media. One Twitter user commented: “Royal Parks is extremely anti-cycling. Cancelling an event in Richmond Park for something that happened in Regents Park while allowing cars to drive through, even though there's been many, many incidents involving cars, tells you all you need to know about that lot.”
Meanwhile, William Davies wrote: “Wait a second. Have Royal Parks cancelled a cycling *race* because some people cycle *too fast*? I’m really struggling with this one.”
After the cancellation of the Duathlon, we contacted the Royal Parks for further information about the decision, but were only told: “A range of factors, including significant operational challenges, have meant that the London Duathlon will not be going ahead in Richmond Park this year. We will work closely with potential event organisers to determine the future of the event.”
The situation comes at the end of a summer when the Royal Parks have come under scrutiny for its cycling-related policies and communication, the charity in June stating that the inquest into the death of a pedestrian — killed in a collision involving a cyclist back in 2022 while crossing Regent's Park's Outer Circle — widely reported by certain sections of the UK's print and broadcast media, had prompted it to review its cycling policy.