Folding bike race is back for Rapha’s Nocturne

But let’s hope it’s not as wet as last year, as seen in the video above.

The kick-off event in June last year suffered from a tropical downpour but still saw 40 suited competitors battle it out in front of 5000 cheering spectators around Smithfield Market in central London. The ‘Le Mans’ start meant riders had to run to their bikes, unfold them and then set off around the challenging Smithfield Nocturne course.

The 2008 Smithfield Nocturne - to be held on 7th June - will now feature qualification heats leading to a grand final.

The folding bike race will be just part of an action-packed race programme which will culminate in an elite criterium featuring top British cycling stars. There’s also a media crit on road bikes, and I’ve been invited. Should I take part? No, I’d get my legs ripped off by the likes of Matt Seaton. I’ll enter the folding bike event instead: it’s easier to fake a mechanical, I can just say I fitted the wrong kind of elastomer bungs…