Johnson has confirmed that he plans to be among those making the first 100-mile challenge ride in 2013.

The RideLondon festival of cycling will give amateur, club and the world's elite cyclists four different cycling events to take part in over the weekend of August 3 and 4 next year.

As well as RideLondon 100, the event will also include RideLondon FreeCycle – an eight-mile central London route on closed roads for up to 70,000 people including families, RideLondon Grand Prix for elite women, juniors and hand-cyclists, and the RideLondon Classic which will see the men's world elite take to the roads of London and Surrey on what is expected to become part of the UCI's official race calendar.

"Londoners are cycling in record numbers and helped  by a raft of improvements there are now more than half a million journeys made by bike every day," said Johnson.

"The inspirational performances of British road and track cyclists this summer have done even more to encourage people to get on their bike, as the fantastic demand for RideLondon is showing.

"This cycling festival will have something for everyone, the Lycra-clad professionals, the daily commuter, and families on a fun day out.

"What's more, RideLondon is a living legacy of our glorious summer by utilising our wonderful Olympic Park."

London Mayor Boris Johnson has said he will take part in the RideLondon event

Hugh Brasher, race director of the Virgin London Marathon, who is also part of the London and Surrey Cycling Partnership, said: "After the incredible achievements of our Olympic and Paralympic athletes, particularly the cyclists, we feel that they have naturally generated massive enthusiasm and inspiration for people to participate in this great weekend of cycling.

"We expected a high demand, but even we were surprised by such a fantastic reaction to the opening of the entry ballot, and we feel this is a great start to one of our primary goals to make this the world's largest charity fundraising cycle event.

"Furthermore, the current figures show that over half the registrants have never previously ridden in a cycling sportive, so we are especially pleased that this event seems to have struck a chord with new participants to this type of challenge."

RideLondon 100 is already proving to be extremely popular

The ballot for places for RideLondon 100 will shut when a total of 75,000 have applied.

People who are unsuccessful in the ballot may still be able to take part by cycling for a charity dear to their heart, as many major charities will have a set number of guaranteed entry places in the RideLondon 100.

The charities will then allocate these places to riders on the basis that they will raise an agreed amount of money for the charity.

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