The unmistakable descent into Paris on the final stage of the Tour de France, the world’s most prestigious cycling race, is only rivalled for spectacle by the finish to the world’s greatest festival of cycling, Prudential RideLondon, according to Sir Bradley Wiggins. Riding down the Champs Elysees is arguably cycling’s most cherished experience, one that Wiggins was overwhelmed by in 2012 when he shone in yellow on the Parisian roads to take the general classification.

But for Wiggins, the unique opportunity to enjoy the iconic London skyline before finishing on the Mall in the shadows of Buckingham Palace makes Prudential RideLondon one of the best races on the calendar for a rider.

This summer, the 35-year-old will aim to become Britain’s most successful Olympian as he bids for a fifth Olympic gold medal at the Rio Games as part of the men’s team pursuit.

And although that will rule him out of taking part in the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic for the third year running, Wiggins insists the opportunity for members of the public to experience some of the greatest scenery in cycling is something they should jump at. “Cycling has been everything to me, it has given me everything really in the last 25 years,” said Wiggins, speaking at Lee Valley VeloPark to announce the new Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46 event, a 46-mile sportive aimed at younger and newer riders.

“Growing up in inner-city London on an estate and coming out of there and taking up the sport of cycling, which is nothing like it is today in terms of popularity, and to be sat here 25 years on in the position I am now I am so grateful to cycling and what is has given me.

“We’ve got the Prudential RideLondon event in the summer, which 25,000 people took part in last year and now the 46-mile loop for younger and newer riders.

“It is very similar to that arrival in to Paris in the Tour de France, you see central London in the distance when you are miles away and you can see all the monuments and there is no other race, other than the Champs Elysees stage in the Tour de France, that is like that. It is one of the best races on the calendar from a rider’s point of view but one of the toughest also. “The event raises a lot of money for charity, it is the biggest cycling festival in the world and just three years old so to think where it could be in ten years from now is quite scary and just to play a small part of that is brilliant.”

Wiggins spent time speaking with riders from three charities - Greenhouse Sports, Teach First and the Invictus Games Foundation - that Prudential is supporting through this year’s event, and who are taking part in either the 46 or 100-mile sportive on traffic-free roads around London.

And Wiggins believes taking part in the spectacle on Sunday July 31 will hopefully go a long way to helping inspire the participants to fulfil their potential. “It doesn’t take much to be inspired, I watched the Olympic Games in 1992 and I was inspired by watching the cycling there and that was thousands of miles away,” he added.

“It is the first time a lot of them will have been on a proper bike and to think in four or five months time they will be doing close to 50 miles around the closed streets of London, it is a huge opportunity for them.

“A lot of them don’t quite realise the potential they have got and I think that is the key to it. This is just the start for them, if they achieve this they can achievement anything.”

The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46 takes place on Sunday, July 31. For more information or to enter visit prudentialridelondon.co.uk