It’s not often that you get to ride through central London without having to contend with cabs and buses. However, the Prudential RideLondon provided such an opportunity for 15,000 cyclists yesterday as they got to enjoy riding on the closed roads of London and the Surrey Hills.
My personal preparation for the ride had been slightly laissez-faire. I’m now fairly confident riding 100 miles, and knew that the route didn’t offer anywhere near the same sort of challenges a the Etape du Tour which I completed in 2011 and 2010. In fact my main worry the sheer number of riders, and whether this could lead to crashes, especially on the descents and on the run back into London as people got tired. ‘Hell is other cyclists’ wrote Sartre (well, nearly), but thankfully he was proved wrong today, as I only witnessed two crashes, both at low speed while climbing.
With the pros chasing us down, it was an early start for all – my alarm was set for 3am in order to make it to the start at the Olympic Park. However, handsome compensation came in the form of the beautiful sunrise over the Olympic velodrome that greeted us as we made our way to the start pens.
It was clear from the start that this was going to be a very well organised event, as our bags were loaded onto lorries to be transported to the finish, while mechanics were on hand to carry out any last-minute repairs. The ample toilet facilities at the start were also a welcome departure from my experience of the start of the Etape.
At precisely 6am the first wave of a couple of hundred riders set off, with more waves departing approximately every couple of minutes for the next two hours. My group was the seventh to leave, and had the honour of being led by Boris Johnson for the first couple of hundred metres, before most of us decided that we were just a bit quicker than the Mayor.
The first two miles along the A12 were neutralised to allow everyone to settle in, although by the time we had reached the official start, the faster riders had made their way to the front and were already setting a high pace.
I have to say that the first hour is a bit of a blur. It was clear that there were a number of riders who wanted to get the ride done as quickly as possible, and were happy to sit on the front at over 40kph. Although my intention was to enjoy the ride at my own pace, my racer’s instinct got the better of me and I found myself speeding through London trying to stay at the front of the group with my heart rate at a level that I knew I could only sustain for an hour or so.
Our time out of central London was only marginally slower than that of the pros later in the day, but thankfully once we escaped the capital the pace slackened as we reached the narrower, rolling roads of Surrey.
The first of the three ‘classified’ climbs was Newlands Corner. A couple of kilometres, and never particularly steep, this would not normally be an overly-testing climb, but after the fast start to the ride there were already a few tired legs, and a number of riders stopped at the feed station at the top for a breather.
Following the lovely fast descent there was about another ten miles to cover to the base of Leith Hill, the main test of the day. This was probably the most leisurely ten miles of the day as everyone took a step back take some food on board and enjoy the closed roads.
But all too soon this was over, as we took the tight left hand turn onto the dragging start of Leith Hill, a climb that starts steadily before a couple of steep ramps that top out over 15%. At 55 miles it was clear that some riders were starting to tire as they struggled with the gradient, but most were still looking reasonably good and seemed to be keeping something in reserve for Box Hill and the final run back into London.
The narrow, wooded descent of Leith Hill was slightly sketchy, as everyone descended at different speeds, but thankfully there were only a couple of riders who saw this as a place to make up time, and most were sensible in their cautious approach.
Riding through Dorking was one of my favourite parts of the day. The early start had meant that there were very few people cheering from the side of the course over the first 60 miles, but by now the locals had begun to emerge from their houses to give us some support. After numerous complaints about the rider in the local papers, it was amazing to see Dorking high street lined with people. To have people cheering at the road side really does make a ride like this so special, and I’m sure this is many riders’ favourite part of the day.
Hot on the heels of Dorking was Box Hill, the final major climb of the day. By now my legs had recovered from the tough first hour, and were even starting to feel good. On the spur of the moment, perhaps forgetting that there were still 35 miles remaining, I decided to light it up on the climb, setting a pace which only one rider in my group could follow. Having to freewheel round the corners as if we were racing up the Poggio, this climb and its perfect road surface was another of my personal highlights of the day.
Not fancying riding the rest of the way to the finish on my own I slowed at the top of climb to wait for a group of London Dynamo riders who happily set the pace for the next couple of miles towards Leatherhead where we were caught by another larger, and faster group. This group obviously contained more riders who were prepared to sit on the front at 40kph, so once again there was little chance to enjoy the scenery, although we were all spurred by crowds which now continuously lined the route as we made our way back into the capital.
With no one wanting to finish with anything left in the tank the last ten miles were covered at over 50kph as we made our way over Putney Bridge and along the bank of the Thames. It was clear that everyone wanted to get to the front to lead the group into the finish, but after doing only a couple of turns on the front over the last 20 miles, I found a little more strength in my legs to move up the side of the bunch as we sped up Whitehall.
After sitting in all day, I dishonourably took to the front as we swung under Admiralty Arch, and completely emptied the tank in the final 300m up the Mall, a moment I will never forget.
First editions of sportives, especially closed road events, are often fraught with problems. However, yesterday’s ride was incredibly well-organised and, in my experience at least, went off without a hitch. The first group was accidentally led off-course and through the Blackwall Tunnel by the lead car, but this is the only example of this I’ve heard, and most importantly no cars seem to have made their way onto the course.
All of the volunteers were also very helpful, both in the start and finish areas and on route, and a special mention must go to those who realised that the faster group would not want to stop at feed stations, so held out gels and energy bars for us to grab. Very pro!
Overall this was an excellent day out with a great route that will be enough to test the fitter riders without being impossible for the casual charity riders further back in the field. The opportunity to watch the professional race along the same course on the same day is another reason that this is a great day out, although next time I might bring a chair. Turns out that six hours of leaning over barriers is not ideal recovery after smashing it for 100 miles…
Student Cyclist 