Prudential RideLondon 2019 ballot closes on Friday

RideLondon 100 Ballot entries close at 17:00, Friday 4th January 2019

From its first incarnation in 2013, the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 (www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk) has developed into the world’s largest cycle sportive. Starting at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and finishing on The Mall, the closed-roads course passes by Tower Bridge, Knightsbridge, Richmond Park, Bushy Park, Newlands Corner, Leith Hill, Box Hill, Esher, Kingston and Wimbledon Village, before you fly down the hill into Putney before turning onto the Embankment and heading back towards Buckingham Palace.

I’ve only done the event once, in 2015, and I can honestly say it was one of the single best sporting experiences of my life. The organisation is simply sublime and I’ll admit, was a very pleasant surprise. I hope to be back again and would have no hesitation in recommending the experience to anyone. My name is in the ballot.

CLICK HERE FOR 2019 BALLOT ENTRIES

The 2019 event takes place on Sunday 4th August.

London Classics – another motivation to enter?

If you’ve not collected one already, the event also provides an opportunity to complete, start or take the next step to earning the HUGE London Classics (www.thelondonclassics.co.uk) medal that was introduced in 2017. I wrote about that when it was first introduced. The concept is that if you complete (over any period, including historic events), the London Marathon, Ride100 and the Serpentine Swim (2-mile), you will be awarded the London Classics medal at the completion of your third event. Consider it a triathlon of sorts… over as long a period as you want.

And those who complete the #LondonClassics get this…..🏅🏅🏅😍 pic.twitter.com/xmbrnihOYF

— TCS London Marathon (@LondonMarathon) July 12, 2017

While London Marathon Events describe it as, “The country’s greatest mass participation challenge” – I’m not sure I’d quite go that far – I still think that the concept is marketing genius. The first opportunity to earn the London Classics medal was at Swim Serpentine in 2017 and despite not having been in the pool for a year at the time, as a previous London Marathon and Ride100 finisher, the carrot worked for me. The reasons for entering went well above the collection of an additional, massive, medal too. Read my experience HERE.