Bankers to battle it out on bikes in Tour Series Canary Wharf curtain raiser

Suits are out and Lycra is in as some of London’s leading companies line-up for the Canary Wharf Grand Prix cycling race on 25 May.

Canary Wharf-based Barclays Capital, Canary Wharf Group plc (CWG), Citi, Clifford Chance, Coutts & Co, Credit Suisse, FSA, HSBC, KPMG, State Street and Thomson Reuters will be among the diverse corporate heavyweights racing around the famous business and shopping district.

The pro-am Canary Wharf Corporate Grand Prix takes place immediately before the Halfords Tour Series cycle race, which comes to London for the first time on 25 May and features Britain’s best professional cyclists racing around the 1km course in a bid to be crowned 2010 champions.

Camille Waxer, Vice President of Retail at CWG said:

“Cycling is growing in popularity at Canary Wharf and around London, as demonstrated by 3,000 people cycling to Canary Wharf daily and the enthusiastic response from Canary Wharf-based companies entering this race. The Canary Wharf Grand Prix gives recreational cyclists a chance to compete on a professional course in what will be an electric atmosphere.”

“Canary Wharf is a fantastic venue for our showpiece curtain raiser of the 2010 Halfords Tour Series”, said Mick Bennett, Technical Director for the Halfords Tour Series.

“The Canary Wharf Corporate Grand Prix will provide an exciting prelude to the professional race, and give the chance for members of the corporate teams to experience at first hand how it feels to race on the same circuit that Olympic medallists and World Champions will compete on just an hour later.

“I’m sure it will give them an understanding of just how tough and fast-paced racing in The Halfords Tour Series is.”

The male and female members of the six-person corporate relay team each complete a lap of the course, which stretches from Cabot Square in the west to Canada Square Park in the east, passing Britain’s tallest buildings and the area’s plentiful bars and restaurants.

Each team is anchored by one of the professional riders taking part in the Halfords Tour Series race later that evening. The winning team will be ‘first past the post’ after six laps. The Canary Wharf Corporate Grand Prix is raising funds for The Prostate Cancer Charity.

Outdoor entertainment complementing the evening’s racing includes pop classics sung by the London Community Gospel Choir, the Solid Steel Ambassadors steel drum band and cheerleaders from Pineapple Studios. The entertainment kicks off at 4pm, with the Canary Wharf Corporate Grand Prix starting at 6pm and the Halfords Tour Series race at 7pm.

The event will also include activities for local school children to hone their cycling skills.

Several Canary Wharf streets will be closed for approximately three hours from shortly before 6pm on 25 May; however all Canary Wharf public carparks will be kept open, buses will be redirected via Bank Street and private car park spaces will be reallocated around the Canary Wharf Estate.

Road.cc is disappointed that the city boys and girls won't have to wear city jackets and ties like the Brompton World Championships at Blenheim.