The expected wind for the first day of 2025 also causes the necessary caution in Baal. After all, the GP Sven Nys is organized on the Balenberg. “Safety of riders and the public is given priority,” says Christophe Impens on behalf of organizer Golazo.
The heaviest gusts are expected on the coast, but in Baal they do not want to take the slightest risk. “We are 100% prepared, together with the security services,” Impens emphasizes. “Nothing is set up that is dangerous in strong winds. Dangerous for riders and spectators. There is a protocol that is automatically applied when wind speeds exceed eighty kilometers per hour.”
In concrete terms, the measures look like this. “We do not set up or leave inflatable structures and other wind-sensitive materials flat in heavy winds,” says Impens. “The big advantage of the Balenberg is that it is a permanent course that partly already has its own permanent closure. That is why, for example, we have to use less after-hours closure than elsewhere.”
The strong wind was already a spoilsport earlier this season in Cabras, Italy, on the island of Sardinia. The match was canceled there due to strong winds, something that had previously happened in Koksijde. Both locations are located by the sea, but also in Merksplas – the heart of Kempen – the competition was canceled a few years ago due to a heavy storm.
