Cycling fans will have a chance to see Sir Bradley Wiggins racing on British roads this weekend as the 2012 Tour de France winner and multiple Olympic gold medallist races in the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic for the first time.
Wiggins is a late addition to the Team Sky line-up for the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic on Sunday 10 August, part of the Mayor of London's festival of cycling. He will be the first former Tour de France winner to ride in the event.
The race will see Wiggins return to the roads used for the time trial and road race events in London 2012, where he won Olympic time trial gold. It will be only his second appearance racing in London since the Games, having won the overall Tour of Britain on his previous visit to the city's streets last September.
After his controversial absence from the 2014 Tour de France, the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic will be Wiggins's first road racing appearance since he won the British National Time Trial Championships in Monmouthshire in June.
Since then, the four-time Olympic gold medallist has been in action on the track for Team England at the Commonwealth Games, winning silver in the Team Pursuit.
As recently as 25 July Wiggins was quoted as saying he was done with road racing, describing it as "cut-throat" with "no kind of loyalties" in what was taken to be a veiled reference to his ongoing rivalries within Team Sky. His return to the road this weekend therefore comes as a surprise, but offers his fans a welcome chance to see Britain's first Tour winner in action.
"We are delighted to welcome Sir Bradley to Prudential RideLondon this weekend," said Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic Race Director Mick Bennett. "He completes an already first-class line-up for the event.
"The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic enjoys great support from spectators at the roadside across the route and this announcement means fans can now look forward to seeing one of the greatest ever British cyclists racing in the event."
Lining up alongside Wiggins will be 2012 world champion Philippe Gilbert, 2014 Tour de France top 10 finisher Laurens ten Dam, top sprinters Mark Renshaw, Alessandro Petacchi and Elia Viviani and several Commonwealth Games medallists, led by points race gold medallist Tom Scully and road race bronze medallist Scott Thwaites.
Wiggins enjoyed a memorable 2012, becoming the first British rider to win the Tour de France before claiming Olympic gold on the roads of London and Surrey, rounding out the year by being voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year and becoming the first Briton to win the prestigious international Velo d'Or award, for best rider of the year.
Held for the first time in 2013, Prudential RideLondon immediately set new records as it became the largest inaugural mass-participation event in the world with 66,000+ participants and raised more than £7 million for charity, making it the largest charity cycling event in the UK. An unprecedented 99 per cent of participants rated the event good or excellent and the festival has won seven national awards.
The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic will be shown live on BBC1 from 14:00 and on British Eurosport from 14:30 on Sunday 10 August.
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