A pro bike race was cancelled at the last moment and as the riders were ready to go on the start line.
The highly unusual eleventh hour cancellation of the women’s GP de Dottignies, a UCI 1.2 ranked event, occurred yesterday.
Many of the best riders in the world, including Sunday’s Tour of Flanders winner and European champion Marta Bastianelli, were ready for the off.
However, the Belgian police inspected the safety precautions at a number of junctions along the route.
They were not happy that the junctions were secured. And following a fatality in a race last month yesterday’s race was cancelled.
While the riders were on the line at the 2pm race start time arrived, the news was broken that the race was off.
The European champion and Flanders victor Marta Bastianelli signs on for the race that never was.
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The French team will at least have some team photos from the day, though it was a waste of their time.
Initially the riders were told the start was slightly delayed. They remained lined up at the start only to be told a short time later the race was off.
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It appears the decision to cancel came so late because the inspection by the police was carried out just before the event was due to get underway.
The event was supposed to be part of the Lotto Cycling Cup series of events for top pro women’s teams and some national squads.
A stellar line-up had assembled as many top teams stayed in the region for the race after Flanders on Sunday.
However, the organisers were forced to comply with the police’s insistence the course was not sufficiently secured.
“The safety of riders and followers could not be sufficiently guaranteed,” Lotto Cup Cycling said.
It added this was the case despite all the usual safety precautions having been put in place.
“We guarantee to take arrangements with local organisers in the future so that this situation can no longer happen,” it explained.
The cancellation occurred amid nervousness in Belgium over race safety following a recent death.
And the local organisers of yesterday’s race, VC Dottignies, had also promoted the race in which the fatality occurred.
Stefan Loos (19) of the Acrog-Pauwels Sauzen-Balen team was killed while riding the Alfred Gadenne Memorial.
He was in a group in the race that was sent the wrong way. They went straight through a junction when they should have turned right.
And because they were off the course without realising it, they raced through another intersection just as the driver of a van was coming the other way.
Loos and two other riders crashed with the van. Sadly the teenager later died due to head injuries.
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