By Nick Butler on the Mall in London

prudential ride londonAugust 3 - Mick Bennett, organiser of this weekend's Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix, has claimed that UK Cycling is "currently riding a tidal wave of success" following eight British gold medals at each of the last two Olympic Games, as well as victories in the last two Tour de France's.


Speaking ahead of tomorrow's London-Surrey Classic, where many of the world's top male riders will compete on a revamped Olympic road race course, Bennett cited the likes of Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins as having inspired a transformation of the sport's popularity in the UK.

"We've ridden the tidal wave of the success that our athletes have had," he said.

"The Mayor [of London] Boris Johnson wanted to choose one sport as a legacy event and in many ways we have just been in the right place at the right time - everybody wants cycling now.

"We were there in the difficult times where we were pushing at a closed door and now we are lucky that the door has opened."

cycling road raceThe Prudential London-Surray Classic will follow the general route of the Olympic road race last summer





Britain has not hosted a major one-day race since 1997 and Bennett sees the London-Surrey classic as the beginning of a much larger project.

"We have a five-year commitment to this event and want it to become a race where all the top teams have to compete," he said.

"It's always difficult in year one as lot of teams are committed to other races - the tours of Poland and Denmark for example - but we've got the BBC on board, an iconic course going past Buckingham Palace and some of the best riders here, so we're very positive."

The line-up is headed by Gerald Ciolek, winner of a particularly brutal and wintry Milan-San Remo classic earlier this year.

Bennett is "particularly pleased" that the German is here, adding that he "watched the San Remo race and simply could not believe that he managed to sprint at the end of that!"

cioplek winning milanGerald Ciolek [left] outsprinting Peter Sagen to win the 2013 Milan San Remo Classic



He will by no means have it all his own way  in London however, as his rivals include Slovakia's Tour de France green jersey winner Peter Sagen, Australian sprinter Matt Goss and British riders including David Miller and Team Sky's Ben Swift, but Ciolek is confident nonetheless:

"In the UK you always compete in front of a big crowd and this is one of our big goals for the season," he said.

"The Olympic road race ended in a sprint finish so we are expecting more of the same here. 

"Yet we are here to try and win it."

Although the men's race is the biggest spectacle of this weekend Bennett also highlighted the ventures being taken to promote women's cycling in the UK.

"We are always keen to host women's events but after the Olympic road race which was fantastic in London, we were more determined to organise a women's Tour of Britain," he said.

"The support has been phenomenal and we have an amber going on green light that the event will run in May, with equal prize money and the best hotels for the athletes."

Rowsell-Trott-King-Wiggle-Honda-team-launch-2013Joanna Rowsell, Laura Trott and Dani King will be three riders keen to take advantage of more opportunities for female cyclists

When asked if projects aimed at an elite level were being over-prioritised at the expense of grassroots development and a wider Olympic legacy, Bennett claimed one will complement the other:

"I have always found that elite sport inspires people," he said.

"I started cycling because I watched an elite bike race and was inspired by it.

"We are finding that there is indeed a 'Wimbledon-effect' where people watch races and want to do it themselves, but it is longer-lasting as well.

"We are also working hard to promote cycling as a lifestyle choice and are finding that local authorities want to embrace the sport."

The format of the Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix, where the elite men's race follows a 100-mile challenge for recreational riders, appears a perfect blending of these two formats, and Bennett was unconcerned by professionals catching up with amateur riders.

"There should be a 30 minute gap between the last rider doing the 100-mile course finishing and the elite winner arriving.

"The worse that can happen is someone like Boris Johnson sprinting against Gerald [Ciolek] which could only be exciting."

When even worst-case scenarios are looked upon positively you know that a sport must be in a pretty good position - as British Cycling undoubtedly is a year on from its Olympic joy.