Third day added to this year's Prudential RideLondon

A third day has been added to Prudential Ride London, the huge mass-cycling event that sees people on bikes reclaim the city streets for one weekend each year.

This year’s “festival of cycling”, which 100,000 people are expected to attend, will now be extended to include a day of free family-friendly entertainment on 29 July at the Lee Valley VeloPark in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London.

This is the first time in the festival’s four year history, that events will be held on the Friday, which will see BMX racing added to the Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix programme at the VeloPark’s BMX track. Stunt legend Danny MacAskill will perform in the Festival Zone.

RideLondon route, including Box Hill, comes to Zwift this summer

Racing will take place on the Lee Valley VeloPark road circuit and BMX track with family entertainment in a Festival Zone within the park. Entry is free of charge.

The programme for the Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix runs from 1300 – 2100 and includes:

• Two handcycle races: the Prudential RideLondon Handcycle Grand Prix for injured veteran servicemen and women and the Prudential RideLondon Elite Handcycle Grand Prix for top international handcyclists
• The Prudential RideLondon Youths Grand Prix: a programme of four races with a boys and girls race for the Youth B category (open to riders aged U14) and a boys and girls race for the Youth A category (open to riders aged U16)
• The Prudential RideLondon Youths BMX Grand Prix for boys and girls in four age categories (for riders aged U8, 9-10 years, 11-12 years and 13-14 years)
• Danny MacAskill brings his world famous Drop and Roll Tour, sponsored by Continental Tyres, to the Festival Zone and features the world’s top street trials rider performing breathtaking stunts on a state-of-the-art custom built rig
• The Festival Zone will also feature other family-friendly activations that will then move to other locations on Saturday 30 July for the crowds to enjoy during Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Sport is a fantastic way of bringing communities together and my team at City Hall will do all we can to enable and encourage more people to participate and compete at every level. This extra day of the Prudential RideLondon festival illustrates that aim by bringing a fabulous mix of young riders, BMX and handcyclists together. We hope it will inspire many more people from many different communities to take to two wheels.”

John Foley, Chief Executive of Prudential UK & Europe, said: “Now in its fourth year, Prudential RideLondon has grown to become the world’s greatest cycling festival and one of Britain’s largest charity fundraising opportunities.

“The addition of a third day of activities will further increase the diversity of exciting displays and events for people of all ages and abilities to enjoy.”

Hugh Brasher, Event Director for Prudential RideLondon, said: “In Olympic year, it is very fitting that this hugely successful legacy event should feature competition in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The addition of BMX to the programme brings a different genre of cycling to the festival. The Youths races will feature a new generation of riders, many of whom will have been inspired by watching London 2012, and the added day means that the handcycle races will now be showcased as a highlight of the programme.”

The full programme for Prudential RideLondon 2016 comprises seven events and more than 100,000 riders will participate over the three days

Friday 29 July

Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix featuring handcycling, youths and BMX racing

Saturday 30 July

Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle

Prudential RideLondon Classique

Brompton World Championship Final

Sunday 31 July

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic