·      Ford becomes presenting partner of the world’s greatest festival of cycling

·      Sponsorship includes Ford Queen of the Mountains competition for Classique riders

·      Event will amplify Ford’s “Park the Car” initiative which encourages car users to cycle or walk for short journeys

London Marathon Events, organisers of RideLondon, announced today (Friday) that Ford has signed up as presenting partner for the world’s greatest festival of cycling, which takes place this year on 27 – 29 May 2022.

Ford will be the sponsor of the Ford Queen of the Mountains competition for the top women pro riders in the UCI Women’s WorldTour three-day stage race, the RideLondon Classique. As part of the sponsorship, the Race Director will drive a Ford Kuga PHEV for the race convoy, and Ford Mustang Mach-E will be the Official Electric Vehicle as part of the London 2022 RideLondon Classique support fleet.

Hugh Brasher, Event Director of London Marathon Events, said: “We are delighted to welcome Ford to RideLondon. We look forward to working with the Ford team to amplify their work in promoting active travel through their association with RideLondon and the innovative “Park the Car’ campaign which encourages car users to cycle or walk rather than drive short journeys.”

Claire Killwick, Head of Customer Communications at Ford of Britain, said: “As RideLondon comes to Essex, we’re excited to lend our support. Ford is committed to achieving zero emissions in vehicles sales and carbon neutrality across its European facilities, logistics and suppliers by 2035. Our Park The Car initiative is part of this, and the message is simple - if your journey is under three miles, consider walking or cycling when you can.”

The partnership will also see Ford support RideLondon FreeCycle’s Led Ride scheme.

Enabled by London Cycling Campaign, Led Rides guide people to and from FreeCycle, the free event held on eight miles of traffic-free roads in central London. The Led Rides will come from all 32 of the London boroughs, encouraging people to cycle the short distance into the city centre.

RideLondon returns this month after three years away with a new-look format and a new partnership with Essex County Council, with routes that take the event from London to Essex and back for the first time.

The events are held on traffic-free roads in central London, east London and Essex and people are being reminded to plan ahead for any travel plans on Sunday 29 May.

The full list of mass participation events is:

RideLondon-Essex 100: the 100-mile challenge will start on Victoria Embankment in central London, head into Essex via Epping Forest where it will follow a section of the Stage Three of the 2014 Tour de France route, before heading back to London and an iconic finish at Tower Bridge.
RideLondon-Essex 60: a mid-level ride that follows the same route as the 100-mile challenge for the first 32 miles before it reaches Ongar, in Essex, and then turns back towards central London and the Tower Bridge finish.
RideLondon-Essex 30: a mass participation ride for those just getting into cycling which, like the 100 and 60, starts on Victoria Embankment and heads north-east through London before reaching Woodford and turning back for the Tower Bridge finish.
RideLondon FreeCycle: FreeCycle provides people of all ages and abilities the chance to cycle along eight miles of traffic-free roads in central London, travelling along some of the capital’s most iconic streets and past iconic landmarks. To register, visit ridelondon.co.uk/our- rides/ridelondon-freecycle

In addition to the mass participation rides, 2022 RideLondon includes the first ever three-stage RideLondon Classique, the UCI Women’s WorldTour race for the best female riders in the world. The first two stages take place in Essex on 27 and 28 May with the final stage in central London on Sunday 29 May.

For more information on Ford’s Park The Car initiative, visit https://ford.to/ParkTheCarUK

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

About RideLondon

·      RideLondon, the world’s greatest festival of cycling, was developed by the Mayor of London and his agencies. It was first held in August 2013 and is a legacy event from the London 2012 Olympics Games.

·      More than 467,000 participants have taken part in the first seven editions of the world’s greatest festival of cycling (2013- 2019) and the event has inspired more than 140,000 new or lapsed riders to start cycling.

·      Since 2013, more than £80 million has been raised through RideLondon for more than 1,000 charities.

·      RideLondon will partner with Essex County Council in 2022.

·      Surrey County Council previously partnered with the event from 2013 to 2020.

·      London Marathon Events gifts its surplus each year to The London Marathon Charitable Trust.

·      Since 1981, The London Marathon Charitable Trust has awarded grants totalling in excess of £95 million to more than 1,500 projects in London and across the UK.

About Park The Car:

·      According to the World Health Organisation, over 50% of car journeys in Europe cover distances of less than 5km and 30% less than 3km[i] - short trips like these have a higher impact per mile on air pollution than longer journeys[ii]

·      A recent study by Ford showed that more than a third of Europeans would be willing to use their car less to help combat climate change[iii]

·      Switching a short drive even just once a day, to walking or cycling, can have a huge impact:

o   Swapping one car trip to walk or cycle per day can reduce a person’s daily carbon footprint by up to 84%, compared to those who don’t

o   Fewer short trips can help ease congestion, which can account for the average person spending up to 36 hours a year in urban gridlock[iv]

o   Just 30 minutes of walking or cycling can help us live a healthier, longer life[v]

o   Helps reduce dependency on fossil fuel

·      ‘Park The Car’ will target 1 million ‘journey swaps’ across Europe in the first year as an initial step towards helping promote active travel, ease congestion and improve air quality in cities

·      The campaign will draw on the support of Ford’s 55,000 employees in the region, as well as partnering with organisations that support active travel – walking and cycling – in the key countries where Ford operates

·      Park The Car is one part of Ford’s company-wide commitment to achieving zero emissions for all vehicle sales and carbon neutrality across its European footprint of facilities, logistics and suppliers by 2035. It also plans an ambitious roll-out of new all-electric vehicles for which sales in the region are expected to hit 600,000 by 2026

For further information, please contact:

Ryan Goad | Head of TV & Communications | London Marathon Events Ltd e ryan.goad@londonmarathonevents.co.uk | m +44 (0) 7950 708574

[i] WHO/Europe | Transport and health - Physical activity

[ii] Assessing the potential for carbon emissions savings from replacing short car trips with walking and cycling using a mixed GPS-travel diary approach - ScienceDirect

[iii] https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/feu/en/news/2021/10/27/europeans-willing-to-give-up-air-travel--eating-meat--and-buying.html

[iv] inrix_costs-of-congestion_cebr-report_v5_final.pdf (time.com)

[v] Replacing sedentary time with physical activity: a 15-year follow-up o | CLEP (dovepress.com)