Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has proposed a new cycling marathon based on the popularity of the London Marathon taking place this month.
The idea would be fairly similar in concept, with an initial 30,000 places for the public and a route which took in significant parts of London.
Exact details of the route have yet to be decided, but various proposals have been drawn up from 37 miles to 74 miles in length, with some using the London Olympics cycling route which sticks relatively close to London and other options going well into Essex.
Reports from the mayors office suggest that the Olympic route would be the most likely to be used for the first year or two, to allow the event to be created without large amounts of logistics such as road closures.
The organisers are keen to include a route including The Mall leading up towards Buckingham Palace, and the Olympic Park, plus as many London boroughs as possible.
Initial estimates put the cost of running the event at around £3 million, but the mayor’s office is confident this could be covered by entrance fees and sponsorship just like the existing London Marathon which this year is sponsored by Virgin.
The idea isn’t entirely unique. In Cape Town there is already an annual race called the Argus which allows 31,000 people to take part.
There’s also no word on whether you can use a Boris Bike for the event, and if so, whether there’ll be a special rate.
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