London Cycling Festival Announced

Rachel Holdsworth
By Rachel Holdsworth Last edited 146 months ago
London Cycling Festival Announced

A two-day cycling festival has been confirmed for next August, involving cyclists at all levels and making use of the Olympic Park.

Boris Johnson will officially announce the London Cycling Festival later today. Day one will allow up to 70,000 people – including children – to cycle on eight miles of traffic-free central London roads. It sounds a bit like Skyride if you ask us. Day two will be a road race for 35,000 amateur and word class athletes to compete on a course broadly in line with the Olympic road race route (PDF), but this time starting in the Olympic Park.

The Olympic Park Legacy Company has confirmed the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will start re-opening to the public in phases from July 2013 which, when you think of all the work that needs to be done dismantling venues after both Games finish, is pretty fast.

For fans of road cycling, it's also been announced that spectator capacity at Box Hill will be increased from 3,500 to 15,000. The rest of the route is free but if you prefer a decent view and seeing the competitors multiple times as they loop the hill, this might be your best option. Tickets go on sale in April.

Photo by quadriman from the Londonist Flickr pool

Last Updated 26 January 2012