Thousands of spectators lined the streets of London yesterday to watch the London-Surrey Cycle Classic, a 2012 test event.

The 140 km (87 mile) route started at The Mall in Central London and passed sights including Richmond Park, Hampton Court Palace and Box Hill in Surrey.

It was a home win, as British cyclist Mark Cavendish rode to victory.

The Olympic road cycling is free to watch and takes place between 28 July and 1 August next year.

Fancy watching a free Olympic Test Event this weekend?

The London 10km Marathon Swimming International takes place in the Serpentine in Hyde Park, and is free to watch. This swimming event is part of the London Prepares series, the official London 2012 sports testing programme.

You can watch the action from a number of spots around the Serpentine on Saturday.

The top 60 swimmers in the world have been invited. Up to 40 athletes will compete on the Serpentine, each swimming six laps of the 1.67km course.

Competitors to look out for include:

• Liverpool-born Spyridon Gianniotis, who’s competing for Greece (he’s the 10km gold medallist from the recent FINA World Championships in Shanghai)
• German Olympian Thomas Lurz (the silver medallist from Shanghai)
• Martina Grimaldi from Italy, who took silver in Shanghai
• Marianna Lymperta from Greece, who took bronze in Shanghai

David Luckes, Head of Sport Competition at the London 2012 Organising Committee says, “The London 10km Marathon Swimming International will be used to test the Marathon Swimming course in Hyde Park as well as many of LOCOG’s operations.

“We are delighted to be able to run such an event with a high level of international athletes and look forward to giving the public an opportunity to witness world class sport for free this weekend.”

The women’s race starts at 10am and the men’s race starts at 2pm.

For more information about the free event, including entry lists, visit the London Prepare series website.

Here are some great pictures of the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship London, which took place in and around Hyde Park at the weekend.

Congratulations to everyone involved, including Helen Jenkins and Alistair Brownlee for their fantastic winning performances in the elite races.

Fancy seeing more world-class sport in London, ahead of the Olympics? Check out our What’s On Sport page for all the details you need.

The Federation of International Volleyball (FIVB) announced the London 2012 Olympic Games test event for beach volleyball will take place in August next year.

The beach volleyball test event will take place from 9 to 14 August in Horse Guards Parade right next to Buckingham Palace.

We’ve blogged about the temporary, 15,000-seater arena before. Huge quantities of sand will be brought in to create a beach in the centre of London.

The August test event will be only for women’s teams, and will replicate the exact formula used at the London 2012 Olympics.

Talking to Olympic news website insidethegames.biz, Kenny Barton, performance programme manager for British Volleyball, said,

“It is fantastic to be having this test event next year to give a flavour of what it will be like having beach volleyball at such an iconic location in 2012. The girls travel all over the world so to have this competition confirmed on the calendar in London in August will be fantastic.

“It will be a huge boost for the girls to experience the actual London 2012 venue as they step up their preparations for the Olympics. If we can get a big, vocal crowd there at the Horse Guards Parade making a lot of noise and getting involved, I really think that can help push us to another level. Right in the centre of London, it will be one of the most accessible venues in 2012 and I am sure it will be the place to be.”

Is beach volleyball one of the events you’re hoping to see during the 2012 Games? Let us know in the comments below.

London will once again hold one of the seven races in the ITU World Championship Series in 2011, according to insidethegames.biz. And this year, there’ll be the added excitement that competitors will be using the same course as the 2012 Olympians.

The event will be as follows:

• Swim a 1500m lap of the Serpentine, departing from a pontoon on the north side of the lake
• Cycle seven laps, or 40km, in and out of Hyde Park
• Run four laps, or 10km around Hyde Park

The cycle route will exit at Hyde Park Corner before going down Constitution Hill, past Buckingham Palace and back into the park.

This will mark the first time a triathlon has been held in the centre of the host city since the event made its debut in the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

“As we move closer to the 2012 Olympic Games, ITU (International Triathlon Union) is pleased to offer a world-class series that showcases our extraordinary athletes in some truly spectacular cities,” said Marisol Casado, the ITU President.

“2010 was a phenomenal year for triathlon and we’re excited to build on that momentum to propel us to another wonderful season in 2011.”

Are you going to be a triathlon contender? Or is this one of those sports you’re eager to watch come 2012? Let us know in the comments below.