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Flagship Olympic legacy sportive 'could put animals' lives at risk says charity

RideLondon 100 sees 20,000 cyclists will ride 100 miles over a modified version of the London 2012 Olympic Road Race route

A flagship sportive that makes up part of the London Olympic Legacy could put animals' lives at risk, a welfare charity has said.

The Prudential RideLondon 100 in August will see 20,000 cyclists of all abilities ride 100 miles over a modified version of the London 2012 Olympic Road Race route.

But road closures that will be put in place will close Randalls Road in Surrey, where the Randalls Farmhouse Veterinary Hospital is based.

In a statement to Eagle Radio, Prudential RideLondon said: "The county council has worked with neighbouring businesses to provide the Foundation with a direct route to the M25 and from there on to anywhere in Surrey throughout the day. So, although Randalls Road will be closed, there will be an alternative access route for the Foundation's use throughout the event."

But Simon Cowell, Founder of the Wildlife Aid Foundation, seemed not to be convinced. He said: “They came up with some ideas of how they can help us, but following  the Olympics we know those ideas won’t and can’t work. So we asked them if they can change the route, especially for next year, but they’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

“We could go out eight or nine times in the day to rescue animals that have to be rescued from the roadside or trapped in something and need to be rescued quickly. They’re lying there in a great amount of pain.

“As for patients coming in, there’s now 50 or 60 patients a day that can’t come in – I find that very distressing."

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junemcd | 10 years ago
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i also live on the road that is closed off. the signs are up already and its almost a month away. its crazy that there are no proper escape routes for us. if i had to I would drive through a route and take the consequences if a life depended upon it.
its supposed to be a fun bike ride not a serious race. the cyclists can be held up when there is a lul for traffic to cross out. i am skeptical of how many will actually make it as far as leatherhead. there are so many run offs that the organisers also dont think they will, so whats the point of making it so long for people not fit enough to do it. I would dearly love to know the thinking behind this event. nobody is going to watch amateurs huff and puff past their door from 7 30 in the morning til 7 30 at night. so there will be no knock on spending for local businesses. i watched the olympics come through leatherhead and it was great but I never in my wildest dreams thought they would even consider a race amateurs every year on main arterial roads in Surrey. In view of the above, i am not too sure this will run after this year in the same format.

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pwake | 10 years ago
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Unfortunate, but any casualties, I'm sure, will be more than offset by the reduction from having 100 miles of closed roads for a day.
But then, of course, if you were to ask someone from the New Forest about it, they'd predict total carnage for any wildlife on a route to be used by 20,000 cyclists.  39

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