The atmosphere and a course weaving through London and Surrey once again conjured memories of last year's Games yet, as in the Olympic road race, the British riders were ultimately thwarted in finishing out of the podium positions.

The festival feeling which has rocked London over the weekend was unblemished despite the lack of a home victory however as hundreds of thousands of spectators thronged the 140 mile course to cheer the riders home.

Riders speed past Big Ben in an iconic ride through central London

After a breakaway group of seven riders led for much of the day, the field had returned together by its return to central London and as the riders passed Westminster and St James's Park before speeding down The Mall, it was Demare who held his nerve the best.

"This is one of my top three victories because there were so many good riders in the race," said the 21-year-old Frenchman after winning in 5 hours 07min 44sec.

Earlier this summer Demare's coach Hervé Boussard had died following an epileptic fit at the age of 47.

"It's even more important because I lose my trainer who died a month ago, so it's very emotional for me," said the FDJ.fr rider.

"It was an amazing race - it's not often you get to ride in a big city on closed roads, the speed was very high.

"The course was harder than last year at the Olympics but I was feeling great on the way back to London."

Arnaud Demare celebrates after winning a sprint finish on the spectator-thronged The Mall


In a top seven compiled purely of French, Italian and Dutch riders, Italy's Sacha Modolo finished second - the identical position he accomplished behind Mark Cavendish in the 2011 London Olympic test event - with France's Yannick Martinez third.

Team Sky rider Ben Swift finished as the best of the Britons down in tenth place.

Although the sprint finish took place under evening skies on packed streets, the race start in the Olympic Park took place in a more reserved and relaxed afternoon vibe, although numbers flocking along the Stratford streets were still considerable

The British flags were less common than cycling jerseys as sporting enthusiasts outnumbered those riding the wave of Olympic euphoria, although the presence of several penny farthing bikes as well as stilt clad entertainers created a village fete style ambience.

Cyclists get underway in a carnival atmosphere in the Olympic Park


In a day which illustrated all sides of a thriving sport in Britain, the elite race was preceded by a 100-mile challenge completed by 15,883 recreational riders.

Behind another continental winner, in Italian Wladimoro D'Ascenzo, were thousands of club riders who relished the opportunity to compete in the capital city:

"It was brilliant; an absolutely epic ride," said 37-year-old Mike Warden, who finished in the second group of riders after having a hip replaced just seven months ago and described "the best event" he had ever done,

It felt just like the Tour de France out there - there were thousands all around the route cheering us on."

One rider experiences technical problems...but refuses to call for help


First women home and London Dynamo rider Lauren Whitmore was also full of praise.

"It was awesome," said the 29-year-old.

"It's such a brilliant course with Leith Hill and Box Hill, which is so iconic, and then finishing on The Mall was great.

"I normally ride those Surrey roads on Sunday mornings anyway, just much slower.

"It was so nice to do it without traffic today and I'll definitely be back next year."

The first celebrity participant to finish was former double Olympic rowing champion James Cracknell, yet the question on everyone's lips was the progress of the Mayor of London Boris Johnson

 Mayor of London Boris Johnson on the Mall to finish an eight hour journey


The Mayor duly surpassed all expectations by trundling home in just over eight hours and afterwards hailed "a great day for cycling, and for this city".

He added: "I want to thank the organisers and the wonderful crowd who made all the difference as we cycled by, helping to spur me on to finish the gruelling 100 miles in a respectable time.

"Huge congratulations to everyone who took part - RideLondon is now firmly on the map as one of the greatest cycling events in the world."

It is indeed on the map after a weekend which has illustrated both elite and recreational sides of the sport in Britain.

Hopes must be high that the event, and British cycling, will only get bigger after a weekend a year on from 'Super Saturday' which revived the euphoria of London 2012.