The Prudential RideLondon Classique is in its second year under the new brand, having replaced the Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix, so it isn’t the most prestigious race in the world. It is, though, the richest. A colossal prize fund of €100,000 is up for grabs for what is essentially a late-afternoon, 66-kilometer criterium race.
If there’s anything worth dragging your team over from continental Europe for one day, then a purse like that is the flame to draw the moths.
The route
Not all criteriums take place on a tourist trap course like the one in London, but it would be smart to accept that the prize is a motivation as much as anything else. We have a 5.5-kilometer circuit, starting and finishing on the Mall in St James’s Park.
The riders then head up Constitution Hill, and turn at the top to head down past Buckingham Palace onto Birdcage Walk, pass Big Ben and then go left on to Whitehall and past Horse Guards Parade.
The route then heads up and down the Strand, through Trafalgar Square, and the Admiralty Arch and back on to The Mall. London doesn’t need the advertising, but it does need events like this to continue to rebuild morale after the tragedies which have affected the UK capital in 2017.
Who’s up for the win?
The outstanding favorite would have to be Cylance’s Kirsten Wild, back as defending champion. The powerful Dutchwoman knows she has the speed to excel again, but it won’t be easy. If the field hits the finish together, Wild is odds-on; if things, start to splinter, she’ll have a strong team to rely on, but a whole peloton trying to disrupt them.
Sunweb’s Coryn Rivera had a strong spring with outstanding wins, notably at the Tour of Flanders, and she was solid at the Giro d’Italia Femminile at the start of the month. She’ll be backed by 2016 podium-placed Leah Kirchmann.
Alé Cipollini will have Chloe Hosking and Marta Bastianelli, with the latter having taking a Giro stage win, while Hosking won at the OVO Energy Women’s Tour in June.
Canyon-SRAM have home favorite Hannah Barnes as well as the 2015 winner Barbara Guarischi in a strong line-up, while Lotta Lepistö goes for Cervélo-Bigla, and she will be desperate to race after missing the Giro.
Wiggle-High5 will be headed by Jolien D’hoore and the 2014 champion Giorgia Bronzini
Katie Archibald and Eileen Roe could spring a surprise for WNT Racing, and Hitec have Nina Kessler who made the podium last year. Marianne Vos can never (ever) be ruled out for WM3, while Boels-Dolmans will try to detonate the race in whatever way they feel appropriate: there’s no Lizzie Deignan, so maybe Chantal Blaak will be their chosen rider.
The Prizes
In theory, if our maths is correct, a super-dominant performance could net a stunning €41,000 for little over an hour’s racing. The race winner takes €25,000 outright, and the team prize nets €10,000. There are three Continental Tyres sprints along the way (€1,000 each) with a Sprints overall prize of €3,000. Compare that to the prize fund for the Giro Rosa – €526 for a stage win, and €1130 for the overall.