Amstel Gold Race cancelled amidst increasing European COVID-19 cases

The 2020 Amstel Gold gold Race, the only Dutch ‘spring’ classic, was cancelled on Wednesday due to new COVID-19 restrictions in the Netherlands. Amid increased cases of infection across the country, the Dutch government banned spectators at all sporting events, forcing organizers of Amstel Gold to scratch the race.

The race, which would have been the 55th men’s edition and seventh women’s edition of Amstel Gold, was won last year by Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel and Polish rider Katarzyna Niewiadoma. This year’s men’s and women’s Amstel Gold races were scheduled to take place on Oct. 10, after being rescheduled from April when the first wave of the virus hit. Originally, the planned course rode through 10 Dutch municipalities. In an effort to minimize the size of the event, organizers had planned to scale down the course to a 16.9km circuit in the region of South Limburg, but even the dialed back version of the race proved to be too risky.

Revised plans

“The past months have been very intense,” says Amstel Gold race director Leo Van Vliet. “In recent weeks it has become increasingly clear that a route through South Limburg, with passages in ten municipalities, was unfeasible. That is why we  worked carefully on a new plan with a smaller circuit of 16.9 kilometers. The course and the area around it would be closed to the public to prevent crowds and to guarantee a 1.5 meter distance. On Monday we were fully prepared to announce this plan, but the new measures announced by the cabinet later that evening meant that the plans had to be revised again.”

“With the condition ‘no public’ this was an almost impossible task. From Tuesday morning we consulted with representatives of the Safety Region and the municipalities. In their final assessment, the mayors established it would be impossible to guarantee no public would spectate the race. Of course, we must respect this assessment, however much we regret it. It, of course, does not prevent us from returning next year with a fantastic race.”

BinckBank cancellation

Yesterday the Netherlands recorded more than 3,000 new cases, the highest ever for the country. These new governmental safety measures also caused organizers to cancel the Dutch stages of the BinckBank Tour on Tuesday. The race will continue, with pre-planned and hastily re-arranged stages in Belgium, but the organizers aren’t hiding their disappointment.

“We are of course very disappointed that this decision has been taken, especially given the late hour,” said Gert Van Goolen, head of BinckBank Tour organizer Golazo in a statement. “We are convinced that we have found a safe and responsible solution to organise a good BinckBank Tour, but unfortunately that was not met.”

Increasing cases in Europe

The Dutch race cancellations come amid increasing cases in many European countries, as experts warn some are entering a second wave. Spain, seeing a major uptick in cases, has put in travel restrictions in and out of large cities. In Belgium, which has the highest mortality rate of any country in Europe, the trend of new infections per day increased by 17 per cent over seven days between Sept. 18 and 24.

Though these statistics are worrying, all hope is not lost for bike racing. Despite the increasing daily totals in France, the Tour de France was able to pull off its race without any incident of infection. The major safety precautions seemed to have worked and Canadian cyclist Hugo Houle said he felt safe in the bubble. As the Giro D’Italia kicks off this weekend, Italy, hit extremely hard at the beginning of the pandemic, has seen no major increase in cases.