Full route for first RideLondon-Essex revealed with event bringing new funding for Essex
- 25,000 cyclists to ride on Essex’s traffic-free roads on Sunday 29 May
- RideLondon-Essex 100 takes riders on part of the 2014 Tour de France route
- Essex organisations will benefit from The London Marathon Charitable Trust funding to inspire activity in their communities
Essex will welcome 25,000 cyclists on Sunday 29 May as RideLondon, the world’s greatest festival of cycling, comes to the county for the first time. Today (Friday 18 February), the full details of the routes have been announced, along with the promise of new funding for Essex organisations to inspire activity in the local community.
This is the first year of a partnership between RideLondon and Essex County Council. The partnership brings the RideLondon-Essex 100, 60 and 30 mass participation rides into the county on Sunday 29 May.
In total there will be 65 miles of Essex roads included in the event routes, with cyclists passing through Epping, Ongar, Great Dunmow, Felsted and the outskirts of Chelmsford on the same roads used by the Tour de France when it came to the county in 2014.
Essex will also host two stages of the RideLondon Classique, a three-day UCI Women’s WorldTour stage race for the best female riders in the world. The start and finish of the first stage on Friday 27 May will be in Maldon, while the second stage will start in Chelmsford and finish in Epping. The details of the Classique routes will be announced in the coming weeks.
As a result of the new partnership between RideLondon and Essex County Council, communities right across Essex will soon benefit from significant funding from The London Marathon Charitable Trust – funding that will inspire activity and support people of all ages and abilities to participate in sport and physical activity. During the first seven years of RideLondon communities hosting the event were supported with more than £4.9 million of funding to local people and projects.
Hugh Brasher, Event Director of RideLondon, said: “This is a very exciting new partnership with Essex County Council and together we have designed routes that showcase the very best of Essex, including a section of the 2014 Tour de France route, which will bring back fantastic memories for so many people who welcomed that event to the county so enthusiastically.
“We look forward to an extraordinary day on Sunday 29 May, when 25,000 riders take part in the first-ever RideLondon-Essex 100 and RideLondon-Essex 60 events. It’s an amazing sight to see so many cyclists on traffic-free roads, riding for all sorts of reasons, including raising important funds for charity, adding to the £80 million the event has raised since starting in 2013.”
Councillor Lee Scott, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Maintenance and Sustainable Transport, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with RideLondon. Essex has a strong legacy in major cycling events, having previously hosted the mountain biking at the London 2012 Olympic Games and a stage of the Tour de France in 2014. With our beautiful countryside and picturesque villages, there’s a lot more to Essex than a lot of people realise and we’re looking forward to showcasing the county to riders and spectators alike.”
Catherine Anderson, Executive Director of The London Marathon Charitable Trust, said: “Our mission at The London Marathon Charitable Trust is to inspire activity, and we’re really looking forward to funding projects and organisations across Essex to do just that – helping people and communities make physical activity a regular part of their everyday lives. During the seven years RideLondon was held in Surrey, we awarded more than £4.9 million to projects locally that inspired activity. We’re very excited to have the same impact in Essex and creating a lasting legacy from this partnership.”
The routes
RideLondon-Essex 100 is the largest of the mass participation events and will feature thousands of riders, many of whom will be riding to raise crucial funds for charity.
The inaugural event will include a section of the same route used by the Tour de France when it came to the county in 2014. It will start in central London, enter Essex via Epping Forest and pass through Chipping Ongar and picturesque villages such as Fyfield and Leaden Roding before reaching Great Dunmow.
Felsted will mark just over halfway in the 100-mile ride, as cyclists head back south towards Chelmsford on the 2014 Tour de France route, heading west towards Writtle and then back towards Chipping Ongar, into London once more ahead of an iconic finish at Tower Bridge.
Click here for the full route.
RideLondon-Essex 60 follows the same route as the 100-mile event, until it reaches Chipping Ongar where it will then turn back towards central London again. For the full route, click here.
The RideLondon-Essex 30 reaches as far as Woodford before heading back to central London.
Roads on the routes will be fully closed on Sunday 29 May and businesses, residents and local organisations are urged to visit ridelondon.co.uk/road-closures to find out more about road closures and plan their travel.
A leaflet, with full details of the road closures, will be delivered to all households and businesses on or close to the route during April.
The London Marathon Charitable Trust
The partnership between RideLondon, organised by London Marathon Events, and Essex County Council means communities in Essex will soon be able to benefit from funding from The London Marathon Charitable Trust, working with Active Essex and other organisations.
The Trust’s mission is to Inspire Activity and closely aligns with Essex’s new Fit for the Future strategy, which creates a strong foundation for collaborating in making physical activity a part of everyday life for everyone in Essex.
Full details of the new fund and application process for grants will be announced in May before the RideLondon weekend.
RideLondon partnered with Surrey County Council for the first seven editions of the event from 2013 to 2019. During that time more than £4.9 million was awarded to projects in Surrey that Inspire Activity.
Jason Fergus, Director of Active Essex, said: “I’m delighted Active Essex is playing an important role in bringing the prestigious RideLondon event to Essex. We know that major mass participation sporting events like RideLondon inspire people to get active, which will help Active Essex to fulfil the aspirations of the new 10-year Fit for the Future Physical Activity and Sport Strategy for Essex and our major Find Your Active campaign.
“Active Essex will lead on the activation of RideLondon to inspire everyone across Essex to cycle more and make physical activity a regular part of their daily lives. Active Essex is also pioneering the Essex Pedal Power programme, with an ambition to level up cycling participation for more than 5,000 people in our most disadvantaged communities.”
About RideLondon
RideLondon is a legacy event from the London 2012 Olympic Games. It could not be held in either 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic, but returns in 2022 with a new format and new partnership with Essex County Council. As well as the RideLondon-Essex 100, RideLondon-Essex 60 and RideLondon 30 there will be the RideLondon FreeCycle, a free, family-friendly event held on eight miles of traffic-free roads in central London.
The RideLondon Classique is the final event in the new format. The three-day UCI Women’s WorldTour stage race takes place from Friday 27 May to Sunday 29 May with the first two stages in Essex and the final stage in central London. Further details on this will be announced next month.
