RideLondon Classique 2024: Route, how to watch and everything you need to know

Cyclist
RideLondon Classique 2024: Route, how to watch and everything you need to know

The RideLondon Classique returns from Friday 24th May to Sunday 26th May for its tenth edition. It’s part of the wider RideLondon festival established by the Mayor of London in 2013 after the Olympics, which also incorporates the RideLondon-Essex 100, 60 and 30-mile rides, and the RideLondon FreeCycle.

Initially a one-day race, the RideLondon Classique has been a part of the Women’s WorldTour calendar since 2016, when Kirsten Wild (Hitec Products) won her first of two editions. It expanded to a stage race in 2022 and features three days of racing.

Charlotte Kool (DSM-Firmenich) won overall last year, bookending the race with sprint victories with Chloé Dygert’s win sandwiched in between. Kool also took home the sprints jersey while Hanna Johansson (Torelli) won the mountains classification. The best young rider was Eleonora Gasparrini (UAE Team ADQ) and Lizzie Deignan topped the best British rider standings.

Kool will be back this year with the likes of Wiebes, World Champion Lotte Kopecky and Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM) also set to line up at the start in Saffron Walden. Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) is a late removal from the race after a bad crash in Vuelta a Burgos Féminas.

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RideLondon Classique 2024: Key information

Date: 24th May-26th May 2024
Start: Saffron Walden, Essex
Finish: The Mall, London
Stages: 3
Distance: 393km
Live TV coverage: Discovery+, BBC Two, BBC Red Button
2023 winner: Charlotte Kool (DSM-Firmenich)

RideLondon Classique 2024: Route and profiles

Stage 1: Saffron Walden – Colchester, 159.2km

Like 2023, Stage 1 of the RideLondon Classique heads from Saffron Walden to Colchester. The climbing begins less than 9km into the day, with a couple of Queen of the Mountains points to get that competition rolling, though ‘mountains’ may be over-egging it.

The race’s first sprint point comes after almost 90km of racing. From there, they head over the Wormingford QOM point and through another intermediate sprint at Mistley, which was also used last year. The finish is in Colchester – formerly the UK’s oldest town that became its newest city in late 2022. Will Kool win here again or will Wiebes return to RideLondon glory?

Stage 2: Maldon – Maldon, 142.6km

Maldon has played a part in the RideLondon Classique for the past three years, also hosting Stage 2 of the 2023 race. The peloton will head north east towards Birch for 39km ride before two and a half loops of a smaller circuit, where all the QoM and sprint points are.

The Little Baddow climb is scaled three times (one more than 2023) with two sprint points to cross. It’s an uphill finish in Maldon much like last year.

Stage 3: London – London, 91.2km

Starting and finishing on The Mall, riders will complete eight laps of a central London circuit on the final stage. The course takes the peloton past iconic landmarks such as Trafalgar Square, St Paul’s Cathedral and the London Eye. Bonus seconds and points will be available through sprints on laps four and seven.

RideLondon Classique 2024: How to watch on TV and streaming

The RideLondon Classique will be available to watch in the UK on Discovery+ for £6.99 per month with the basic package, which includes cycling. Eurosport will not be showing the RideLondon Classique live but will broadcast hour-long highlights. In the UK the race will also be free to watch on the BBC Red Button and the final stage will once again be shown on BBC 2.

If it’s not being shown in your country, you may be able to watch coverage using a VPN – Virtual Private Network – which allows users to mask their IP address and watch geo-blocked content, provided they don’t need to pay for a subscription. This is also helpful for watching paid-for coverage while abroad in countries without access.

One such example is ExpressVPN, which is very well reviewed, helps users to find a way to watch cycling without having to pay for broadcasters services, and costs £5.36 per month, with three months free. Other options include NordVPN, Surfshark and Kapersky.