The British Heart Foundation’s London to Brighton bike ride will return next year for the first time since 2019, the charity has announced.
The event, which usually raises millions of pounds for the charity, has been cancelled for the past two years because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In January, the charity decided to call off this year’s edition because of the risk of having to call it off at the last minute because of uncertainty over the outbreak.
But the charity said it planned to hold the event on 19 June next year and hoped it would raise more than £2.8m.
It said it was planning for about 16,000 cyclists to take on the 54-mile ride, which starts on Clapham Common, south London, and finishes on the Brighton seafront.
It said it would be operating a ballot system for people wanting to take part in the ride, which will be held for the 45th time next year.
The event raised £2m for the BHF in 2019 and had been worth a record £3.1m to the charity the year before.
Krystyna Grant, head of innovation and products at the BHF, said the event would be the biggest closed road cycle event in the UK.
“The event is the highlight in our calendar and we’ve really missed cheering on the cyclists as they heroically pedal the 54 miles from London to Brighton to raise funds for our life saving research,” she said.
“Covid-19 has had a huge impact on the events and charity sector, so it feels good to be back.”