RideLondon Classic 2025 canceled after UCI changes dates

There will be no RideLondon Classic in 2025, with organizers forced to cancel following a date change by the UCI.

Hugh Brasher, CEO of London Marathon Events and event director at Ford RideLondon, has lamented the cancellation of the women’s professional cycling event, calling it a “sad day” for the sport.

The UCI changed the event dates without consultation

“We were extremely surprised to be informed by the UCI on March 26 that the 2025 Ford RideLondon Classic had been moved from the UCI Women’s WorldTour calendar from the final full weekend of May 23-25 ​​to a new date a week later , from May 30 to June 1,” Brasher said in a statement. “And the news came despite the UCI having previously informed the LME that it would not. “There would be no change to the calendar before 2026.”

A long-running run in London

Since its debut in 2013, RideLondon has been a legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, offering amateur and professional cycling events on closed roads. Initially, the men’s professional event, the London-Surrey Classic, was held until 2019 across the Surrey Hills.

Alongside this, the festival included a professional women’s event, initially known as the RideLondon Grand Prix. It takes place on a central London circuit with The Mall as the finish line. The race was later renamed the RideLondon Classic in 2016. It was also incorporated into the UCI Women’s World Tour. The race has become renowned for offering prize money equal to 100,000 euros like the men’s race.

“Major events in London, one of the largest capitals in the world, are planned many years in advance. It is impossible for the Ford RideLondon Classic to take place in central London on the new dates proposed unilaterally by the UCI. Alternative dates at this late stage are impossible,” Brasher said. The UCI will not reverse this decision and will not authorize the holding of two Women’s WorldTour events on the same weekend.

Women’s WorldTour milestone

The Classic, an important event of the UCI Women’s WorldTour, benefits from significant sponsorship and live television coverage from the BBC.

British rider Lizzie Deignan (Lidl-Trek) praised the 2024 race. “The Ford RideLondon Classic has the best riders in the world. And it attracts the fastest female cyclists in the world,” she said. There aren’t many races on the calendar anymore that are entirely suited to sprinters. I think the Ford RideLondon Classic is a bit of a flagship event in that the best sprinters come here with the intention of proving that they are the best sprinters in the world. This is a great opportunity for them. It’s a bit like arriving on the Champs-Elysées.”

Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx – Protime) won the 2024 RideLondon Classic.