OLYMPIC champion Joanna Rowsell believes the spirit of 2012 is alive and well as she prepares for the third annual Prudential RideLondon this summer.

Rowsell, who won gold in the team pursuit at London 2012, was on hand to deliver the highest ever cycling master class at The Shard last week with a host of stellar names, including Rugby World Cup winner Martin Johnson.

As well as being able to pass on some tricks of the trade to Johnson and Olympians Sally Gunnell and Jonathan Edwards, the event marked the launch of this year’s event.

Prudential RideLondon is the world’s largest festival of cycling, which will take place across London on August 1-2 and will involve Rowsell in the Surrey 100-mile charity ride.

She believes RideLondon is the culmination of a British cycling boom that she hopes to see continue in the coming years.

“I came to RideLondon in its first year and it was a fantastic experience. Now I’m back and raring to go,” she said.

“I’m doing the 100-mile sportif and I’ve never actually ridden that distance before, but I’m from Surrey and I know all the roads really well.

“After the Olympics people always talked about legacy and I think RideLondon is a fantastic event to take hold of that and harness it.

“Without actually holding an event it is difficult to maintain that. With this, you are providing fully-closed roads on what is pretty much the Olympic road race course.

“Everyone wants to be a part of it and it is the biggest event on the cycling calendar. It has so much interest and excitement around it.”

Former England rugby skipper Johnson is taking park and believes it has become the London Marathon of the cycling calendar.

“To ride through London closed streets is fantastic, and to finish on the Mall is a hell of a thing to do,” he said.

Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle is a family fun ride for riders of all ages and abilities on traffic-free roads. To register, visit www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/freecycle