Olympic golden girls headline Prudential RideLondon criterium

Trott, King and Rowsell to ride historic London circuit race

Tim Ireland/PA Archive/Press Association Images

Published: May 23, 2013 at 10:18 am

Olympic team pursuit track cyclists Laura Trott, Dani King and Joanna Rowsell will wow crowds at the Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix in August.

The trio will headline the city centre criterium – the first time elite women will race among London’s iconic landmarks. They’ll be accompanied by rising star Elinor Barker, who took gold in the team pursuit at the world track championships in February, alongside King and Trott.

The GP will be held on 3 August in a spectacular – and fast – 2km (1.3m) loop around St James’ Park. The circuit starts and finishes on The Mall, heads towards Buckingham Palace, turns left and joins Birdcage Walk before a 90-degree corner onto Horse Guards, where it once again hits The Mall.

The prudential ridelondon gp course: the prudential ridelondon gp course - Prudential RideLondon

The Prudential RideLondon GP course

Trott said: “This is a fantastic course. It’s the perfect way to celebrate one year on from the Olympic Games in an amazing weekend of cycling in London and Surrey. I can’t wait to be part of it. Bring it on!”

The women’s Grand Prix, featuring up to 100 of the world’s best riders, will be preceded by a handcycle race and a junior event. Organisers are currently accepting entries for the junior event on the British Cycling website.

The Prudential RideLondon weekend, over 3-4 August, will also feature a free mass participation family ride of up to 50,000 people, a 160km (100-mile) sportive centred on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and a men’s pro road race. The festival of cycling aims to recapture the atmosphere of the London 2012 Games.

Ahead of the sportive, BikeRadar Active are offering a bespoke training plan to help sportive riders train for and maximise their performance on the tough route out into the Surrey Hills before its swings back to the start/finish.