Cycling Weekly

THE ONLY WAY IS ESSEX

It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, there is something special about riding on closed roads. All the biggest sportives offer this experience, from the Etape du Tour in the French mountains, to Etape Caledonia’s lap of Loch Tummel in the heart of Scotland. The chance to ride in these amazing locations, on closed roads, is bucket-list material.

Will the closed roads of Essex slot RideLondon back into the pantheon of great events? A county not known for its hills, cycling folklore or stunning scenery but rather boy racers in souped-up hatchbacks. Can it host an inspiring day’s riding for 25,000 people this summer?

Originally run in 2013 as an Olympic legacy event, RideLondon weekend hosted a men’s WorldTour road race, a women’s crit, a family-focused Freecycle and of course the sportive that saw

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