A police presence at the Belgium Tour(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tom Boonen on the Muur van Geraardsbergen in 2010(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The peloton in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Cycling's Classics are as popular as ever in Belgium(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The 2016 E3 Harelbeke(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Race organisers in Belgium are reacting to world events and uneasiness by taking steps to prevent any possible terrorist attacks on the upcoming spring Classics. Intersecting streets will be blocked, backpacks checked, and additional security forces will be on hand.
The particular nightmare scenario is a vehicle driving into the race or crowds, as happened in Nice in July and at the Berlin Christmas Market in December. Intersections in busy areas will be blocked by trailers and concrete blocks, Het Laatse Nieuws reported.
The emphasis will be at the start and finish points of races, and also on popular climbs.
“This has been prepared in co-operation with the governors and police,” said Wim Van Herreweghe of Flanders Classics, the organiser of the Tour of Flanders and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, among others.
“We need to follow the guidelines that apply to terror level three. In addition to the dozens of policemen who will patrol, we will have 100 stewards to check luggage in public areas.
“New this year is that we must ensure that there are no trucks able to drive onto the course. It is obviously impossible to guarantee this for the entire route, but we will concentrate on places where many people gather, like the Koppenberg, the Kwaremont and the city of Oudenaarde."
Organizers of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and E3 Harelbeke will take similar measures.
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Cycling’s first brush with possible terrorism came in May 2015, when Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt was cancelled by police, following the arrest of a married couple they believed were planning an attack on the race.
