The Belgian government has ruled out sporting and cultural events, as well as festivals, until September due to Covid19.
The move, announced on Wednesday, means the Belgian national road race championships set to take place in Anzegem on August 22nd and 23rd will be impacted as well as a whole host of other UCI-ranked races in the country.
The mayor of Anzegem, Gino Devogelaere, has already told Het Nieuwsblad he could not allow the championships to take place on those new dates in August, which were set by the UCI in its statement early on Wednesday.
Devogelaere said the UCI had stipulated the weekend of August 22nd-23rd as the new date for national championships without consultation.
He added if he allowed the Belgian championships to go ahead then and a spike in Covid19 cases resulted from the gathering, everyone would blame him.
Advertisement
Other races that look set to fall victim to the Belgian government's suspension of all sports events up to August 31st include Baloise Belgium Tour, Tour de Wallonie and the Brussels Cycling Classic, among others.
More significantly, the move by Belgium to effectively dismiss any notion sport could return before September may set the tone for other European countries.
Related News
The development came on the same day the UCI stated the Tour de France would begin on August 29th.
It extended the suspension of all UCI races by one month, to July 1st, and WorldTour races to August 1st.
However, the world governing body clearly believes at this point that some pro racing could resume from the start of July and WorldTour racing could get going again from early August.
But the announcement by the Belgian government to rule out any sport this summer is at odds with the UCI’s view.
Furthermore, the decision by Belgium’s national security council came on the same day it relaxed some of its Covid19 restrictions.
Some businesses such as DIY shops and garden centres are
set to reopen this weekend, but with social distancing measures in place.
However, the restrictions that were already in place,
such as non essential outings being restricted and schools being closed, have
been extended by two weeks until May 3rd.
There were 33,573 cases of Covid19 in Belgium and 4,440
confirmed deaths. Some 2,454 new cases and 283 deaths were confirmed on Wednesday
for the previous 24 hours.
Topics
