RideLondon 2016 crash: Two cyclists airlifted to hospital after ‘nasty’ accident brings race to standstill

One man in serious condition after hitting tree and another being treated for serious head injury

Cyclists pass the Palace of Westminster in the latter stages of the Prudential Ride 100 (PA)

Two cyclists taking part in the 100-mile RideLondon event have been airlifted to hospital after two separate crashes.

One man is in a serious condition after hitting a tree and the other is being treated for a serious head injury after falling off his bike, South East Coast Ambulance Service said.

Many riders taking part in the annual event were held up for prolonged periods before being diverted after the first crash, at 9.05am near Pyrford, Surrey. The man was taken by air ambulance to St George's Hospital in Tooting, London.

The second crash took place at around 10.55am near Thames Ditton and he was also treated by air ambulance paramedics before being taken to a London hospital.

Organisers tweeted: “Due to an incident that required an air ambulance to attend, riders in the RideLondon-Surrey 100 have been held on the route in Surrey.

“Planned contingency route from West Byfleet to Ripley is being opened and riders will be directed to that route.”

Some participants and spectators on social media suggested there had been a prolonged hold-up.

Locals reportedly handed out water to stranded cyclists while they waited on the route.

Cyclist Maria David said on Twitter: “Been stuck at Pyrford feed station about 45 minutes. Apparently air ambulance on the road up ahead.”

Another Twitter user wrote: “Bad RideLondon crash near Ripley... Never seen so many air ambulances before.”

Shortly before noon, RideLondon tweeted: “The route from West Byfleet to Ripley has been now been re-opened to riders in the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100. The diversion route is no longer in use.”

Cyclists queued for up to an hour after the crash between Pyrford and Ripley (Sharif Hossain/Twitter) (Sharif Hossain)

A “backlog” of riders that had built up after the first crash led to the organisers putting in place another diversion which cut out Box Hill in Surrey.

RideLondon tweeted: “Following the incident near West Byfleet when a rider required an air ambulance, a backlog of riders built up on the route.

“In order to ensure all riders get to the finish line within the required 8.5 hours, a planned diversion route has been opened at Mile 44 to divert those riders through to Mile 70 (taking out Box Hill and rejoining the route before Leatherhead).”

Box Hill has become a popular attraction for cyclists, particularly after it featured prominently in the London 2012 Olympic cycling road race.

Press Association