Dani King will be determined to prove a point at this year’s Prudential RideLondon Classique on Saturday 30 July.
The Wiggle HIGH5 rider won a gold medal in the velodrome at the London 2012 Olympics but was not selected for the Great Britain team for this summer’s Rio Games.
King will now turn all her attentions to making an impact at the Prudential RideLondon Classique which is the 13th round of the UCI Women’s WorldTour and the richest women’s one-day race in the world.
The 25-year-old forms part of a powerful Wiggle HIGH5 squad that also includes Australian Chloe Hosking – who won a stage at last week’s Giro d’Italia – and rising British star Lucy Garner, 21, the two-time junior World Road Race champion.
King said: “Obviously, it is disappointing to not be going to the Olympics but it does mean I get to ride one of my favourite events of the year, the Prudential RideLondon Classique.
“It is always good to race on home roads and this event is getting bigger and better each year. It’s now a UCI Women's WorldTour event and has the largest prize fund in women’s cycling so I’m really excited to be racing it once again.”
The Prudential RideLondon Classique has attracted 22 of the best teams in the world to the race which is part of the Prudential RideLondon weekend of 29-31 July.
Reigning champion Barbara Guarischi (Italy) returns to London with a very strong-looking Canyon/SRAM team looking to help her to back-to-back wins. That team includes new British champion Hannah Barnes, Tiffany Cromwell (Australia), who won stage four of the Giro d’Italia, and 2015 Tour of Britain winner Lisa Brennauer (Germany).
Chantal Blaak, the winner of two UCI Women’s WorldTour races already this season, will also be a name to watch out for.
The 26-year-old Boels-Dolmans rider has already won two UCI WorldTour races this year. Like King, she was disappointed not to make the Rio Olympics, with the Dutch selectors overlooking her, and will be looking to prove them wrong at the Prudential RideLondon Classique.
Another two Dutch riders hoping to make an impact are Rabo Liv team leader Lucinda Brand and Hitec Products sprinter Kirsten Wild.
Racing in Britain has been a happy hunting ground for Cervelo Bigla Pro Cycling team this year and they will bring two riders who enjoyed success at the Women’s Tour of Britain in June: Ashleigh Moolman (South Africa) who finished second overall and Lotta Lepisto (Finland) who won the final stage.
There is also a number of young British talents to keep an eye out for.
Grace Garner, younger sister of Lucy, heads up the Podium Ambition Pro Cycling P/B Club La Santa team where she will be supported by Paralympic star Dame Sarah Storey.
Storey will be heading to the Rio Paralympics in September aiming to defend the four gold medals she won in London 2012.
Drops Cycling Team will also be led by a younger sibling. Hannah Barnes’ sister Alice has picked up a series of wins this season and will be looking to be in the mix again on The Mall.
Full team list:
- Canyon/SRAM racing
- Hitec Products
- Poitou-Charentes.Futuroscope.86
- Wiggle HIGH5
- Boels-Dolmans CyclingTeam
- BTC City Ljubljana
- Rabo Liv Team
- Rally Cycling
- Orica – AIS
- Lensworld - Zannata – Etixx
- Bepink
- Cervelo Bigla Pro Cycling Team
- Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team
- Team Tibco - Silicon Valley Bank
- Team GB
- Podium Ambition Pro Cycling P/B Club La Santa
- Topsport Vlaanderen – Etixx
- Team Liv – Plantur
- Cyclance Cycling Team
- Ale' Cipollini
- Astana Women's Team
- Drops Cycling Team
The total prize money for the Prudential RideLondon Classique is 100,000 Euros, the biggest prize fund in women’s cycling. The individual winner receives 25,000 Euros in prize money and the winning team is awarded 10,000 Euros. There will be three Continental Tyres Sprints classifications in the race offering a further 12,600 Euros in prize money.
The race will be shown live on BBC TV for the fourth successive year. It was the first women’s race in the UK, outside the Olympic or Commonwealth Games, to be broadcast live.