RideLondon Classique is a women's cycle stage race held in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

for the

UCI Women's World Tour The UCI Women's World Tour is the premier annual female elite road cycling tour. History In order to increase the coverage of Women's cycling the UCI held a summit in December 2014 between the UCI Women’s Working Group and the UCI Women's ...

. Part of the

RideLondon RideLondon is an annual festival of cycling held in London. Intended as an annual legacy of the London 2012, London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, it was first held in 2013. The format consists of a series of cycling events on closed roads ...

cycling festival, the race was originally held as a one-day race in central London, and became a stage race in 2022 following the demise of the

London–Surrey Classic The London–Surrey Classic (also known as the RideLondon–Surrey Classic) was an annual men's professional one-day road cycling race, starting and finishing in London and routed via the picturesque Surrey Hills. The first race of its kind wa ...

History

First held in 2013, the

festival was designed as an annual legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The format consists of a series of cycling events on closed roads for amateur

cyclists Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of Bicycle, cycles for transport, recreation, Physical exercise, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", ...

and professionals. The professional men's event -

- ran from 2013 to 2019, on a course utilising the Surrey Hills. As part of the festival, a professional women's event (originally the RideLondon Grand Prix) was held on a central London circuit, with the finish line on The Mall. In 2016, the race was added to the

, was renamed the RideLondon Classique, and gained an identical €100,000 prize fund to the London–Surrey Classic - making it the richest one-day race in the women's calendar. Due to the flat, short circuit in central London, the race often culminated in a sprint finish on The Mall. Both the 2020 and 2021 editions of the race were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Following the withdrawal of title sponsor Prudential and

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...

, it was announced that RideLondon would become a one-day event in central London from 2022 - with a 3-day elite women's race as the new main event. In March 2021, a 10 year partnership with London Marathon Events to stage the event was agreed, and in November 2021, an agreement with

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. It has 75 councillors, elected from 70 divisions, and is currently controlled by the Conservative Party. The council meets at County Hall ...

was announced. In February 2022, the full route of the 3 day event was revealed - with 2 stages in Essex and a final circuit stage in central London. The 2022 event was criticised for not providing live TV coverage for all three stages as required for inclusion in the

- with the UCI warning that the 2023 event would be demoted to the

UCI ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is the second tier men's elite road cycling tour. It was inaugurated in 2020. The series is placed below the UCI World Tour, but above the various regional UCI Continental Circuits. Development In December 2018, the UCI announ ...

if stages were not broadcast on live television. The race retained its World Tour status for 2023 after the organisers provided the UCI with evidence that stages would have the required live TV coverage.

Winners

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:RideLondon Classique UCI Women's World Tour UCI Women's World Tour races Recurring sporting events established in 2013 Cycle races in England 2013 establishments in England Annual events in London RideLondon