London's annual evening cycling event celebrated its 10th anniversary in style with MR PORTER.

This weekend, the streets of the City of London were transformed into a veritable playground for the capital’s bike-mad elite in honour of The MR PORTER London Nocturne, an annual series of cycling challenges (and an accompanying knees-up) that celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. As you may be able to guess from the name, the event, which encompasses races for enthusiastic amateurs (such as the Santander Bike challenge and Concours d’Elegance) as well as pro-level cyclists, was sponsored by none other than MR PORTER this year. The MR PORTER team, therefore, were there in force, hosting a well-stocked bar, ice-cream stand and more in the MR PORTER garden. Here’s what we learned on the day (in between rattling our custom-made cowbells and munching on steak and chips from Stakehaus):

How many leotards is it healthy to encounter in a single day? To be honest, at times, it felt like we we may have been approaching the limit. But then we would see a perfectly put-together ensemble such as the one sported by the gentleman above, which helped to remind us that it is eminently possible to mix performance with style. If you’re a fan of this sleek black-on-black look (which, though it may not actually make you go faster, certainly looks like it does), then we suggest investing in a few key pieces from Danish brand Pas Normal Studios – an expert in stylishly minimalistic cycling gear.

Anyone who’s spent an irritating morning’s drive stuck behind a caravan of tourists on London’s somewhat sluggish Santander rental bikes would have been surprised to see them take off with such speed in the MR PORTER Nocturne’s Cycle Hire Race. What was especially amusing about this particularly event was that entrants had to run the final 100m of the race on foot, after having docked their rental bikes at the appropriate stations. If only more tedious happenstances of commuting in London could be transformed into this kind of fun free-for-all. If only.

If these entrants to the Concours d’Elegance (a race focused on form, style, and road etiquette led by a MR PORTER taxi) are anything to go by, our fifth birthday celebrations (and accompanying special-edition bowler hat we produced with Lock & Co Hatters) really made an impact. Of course, much as we are in favour of the return of this classic headpiece, we probably wouldn’t recommend swapping your cycle helmet for one – they’re attractive, but not supremely practical as safety gear. Also, be warned: smoking kills.

Yet we did it – how could we not? The picture in question, above, was of Mr Chris Lawless, the winner of the MR PORTER Men’s Elite Criterium race. During the race, comprising 50 minutes cycling culminating in three laps of the 1.5km circuit, Mr Lawless, of team JLT-Condor, battled Team Wiggins rider Mr Owain Doull (above, left), but pulled ahead in the final moments, recording the fastest lap time of the day. (NB All the champagne foam above makes it look like it was snowing, but it was actually a rather balmy evening.)

I suppose we would say that, wouldn’t we. But we hope you agree.