RideLondon has been cancelled due to Coronavirus fears and will be replaced with a virtual event.
It is hoped the annual cycling festival, planned for the end of May, will return in its usual format in 2022.
Will Norman, the Mayor of London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, said: “It is very disappointing that RideLondon cannot take place in May, but with London still in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic it is the most responsible decision.
“We know many Londoners have taken up cycling over the past nine months and we are doing all we can to support this and help avoid the risk of a damaging car-led recovery, including rolling out new cycle lanes across our city.”
Hugh Brasher, Event Director of RideLondon, said the decision was disappointing, especially for the charities that have benefitted from more than £80 million in fundraising since 2013, but that he hoped people would show their support by joining a virtual version. A virtual challenge in August 2020 after last May’s cancellation raised three million.
“We are currently working with the Mayor’s Office to deliver a virtual event in the summer designed to inspire as many people as possible to cycle more often and also to engage some of the hundreds of thousands of new or lapsed cyclists to raise money for the many charities whose income has been so affected by COVID-19,” he said.