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Olympian Jessica Ennis-Hill led a cycle group through London to mark the introduction of safety lasers on city bikes.
Around 4,000 Santander Cycles, or “Boris bikes”, have been fitted with laser technology which projects a bike symbol onto the ground to warn drivers a cyclist is on the road.
The retired heptathlon star called the lights a “great idea” after completing her first ride.
The cycling group was made up of people who were trying out the innovation to feel safer on the roads.
Ennis-Hill said of the group: “They did really well. It was pretty good to get them in the deep end cycling in London in rush hour traffic.
Jessica Ennis-Hill called the laser technology on Boris bikes a "fantastic idea" after leading a cycle group through London pic.twitter.com/IW0J6yGXij
— Thomas Hornall (@ThomasHornall) October 25, 2016
“Now it’s dark and winter is drawing in it’s a great idea to have them (the lights) around you just to have that little bit of safety.
“Any campaign to get more women active and cycling and doing different sports is fantastic.”
The gold medal winner admitted she usually takes the car or walks when at home in Sheffield and said retirement gives her the “freedom to try different things”.
Over the next nine months the technology will be fitted to all 11,500 Santander Cycles in London, with Santander covering the majority of the cost.
Olympian Jessica Ennis-Hill leads a female cycle group testing laser safety technology pic.twitter.com/x04a6zOmoK
— Thomas Hornall (@ThomasHornall) October 25, 2016
The scheme is a collaboration between the Mayor of London, Transport for London (TfL) and Santander.
Blaze Laserlights were invented by London start-up Blaze which makes products for urban cyclists.
Last year, a trial recorded “overwhelmingly positive feedback” with a street survey finding around three-quarters of cyclists felt more confident riding the bikes, TfL said.
A record 1.2 million bike hires were recorded in July this year.
