Essex hosting RideLondon cycling event until 2026

The 100-mile route in May took cyclists as far north as Great Dunmow and Felsted (pictured)

Essex will host the RideLondon cycling event for another three years, it has been announced.

The county has been used for the annual festival of cycling since 2022 and Essex County Council said it would continue until at least 2026.

The weekend includes a mass participation event for up to 25,000 amateur riders and the RideLondon Classique elite women's race.

RideLondon took place in Surrey before the pandemic.

"We very much look forward to this event improving even further in the coming years," said the council's Conservative cabinet member for highways maintenance and sustainable transport, Lee Scott.

Several residents and businesses publicly complained in the lead up to the 2022 event over the road closures

More than 22,500 riders took part in this year's event in May, starting and finishing in the capital, but using roads weaving through some of Essex's most scenic countryside.

A total of 109 elite riders competed in the two-stage RideLondon Classique, which forms part of the UCI Women's World Tour.

The council said it had been awarded £1.75m so far from the organisers' parent charity - London Marathon Foundation - for promoting physical activity and active travel in Essex.

Essex's country roads will play host to the event until at least 2026

Several residents and businesses publicly complained in the lead up to the 2022 event over road closures and what they believed was a lack of communication from organisers.

An online petition calling for the race not to pass through Great Dunmow received more than 1,700 signatures.