The start of the Tour of Flanders in 2018 -

DAVID STOCKMAN / BELGA / AFP

  • If Paris-Roubaix could be canceled due to the Covid, there is no doubt that the Tour of Flanders will continue.

  • Why such a difference between two races separated by 40 kilometers?

  • A question of culture but also of organization according to the boss of the Tour of Flanders.

If Paris-Roubaix could well be canceled for the second year in a row, on the other side of the border, the question does not arise.

Scheduled for April 4, the Tour of Flanders, scheduled a week before the hell of the North, will take place 40 kilometers from Roubaix.

In Belgium, the health situation is not necessarily better than in France.

Yet the biggest cycling race in the country will take place.

A question of sporting culture but also of organization, as explained by Tomas Van den Spiegel, the organizer of the Tour of Flanders.

“I am surprised to hear that Paris-Roubaix could be canceled.

A sport like cycling can be organized in a very safe way by taking lots of measures and collaborating at the level of the authorities and the organizers.

But also by communicating very strongly to the public, ”he believes.

And the Flemish knows what he is talking about.

When Paris-Roubaix was postponed and then canceled at the last moment last year, the Tour of Flanders was simply postponed from April to October as the second wave of the epidemic began.

And everything went very well by taking strong measures.

No cluster in Belgium on cycling races

“Departures and arrivals are without an audience.

Spectators are not allowed to come to important sections of the course either.

We communicate very strongly upstream, saying that it makes no sense to come and see the race.

Everyone is required to wear a mask along the route.

And it works very well.

Normally, the Tour of Flanders attracts a million people on the course.

Last year, no one came because everyone played along, ”says Tomas Van den Spiegel.

Among the runners, teams and followers, a strict health protocol is in place and works well as evidenced by the absence of a cluster since the races resumed in Belgium.

So why isn't France taking inspiration from its neighbor to save Paris-Roubaix from a second cancellation in a row?

“We need collaboration and strong trust between the organizers and the authorities.

If that confidence is there, such an event can proceed without any problem.

You have to look at it in a very objective way: everything takes place in the open air and there are measures which allow the risks to be controlled.

I am convinced that ASO [organizer of Paris-Roubaix] can do it, ”continues the boss of the Tour of Flanders who would like the big neighboring race to be held this year.

He is far from the only one in the world of cycling.

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