The day before the race was due to take place , there was a series of attacks in Brussels . This caused a heightened security level in Belgium and led to the possibility that the race would be cancelled . The organisers of the race decided to continue , however , with the final decision to be taken by the Belgian government on the day of the race itself . , one of the teams scheduled to take part in the race , was forced to withdraw : they had entered the minimum number of riders ( six ) ; three of these were unable to travel to Belgium because their flights were cancelled . The race started as planned , following a minute 's silence . Like , several other teams had riders unable to attend the race due to travel restrictions ; Movistar started the race with four riders instead of eight
a series of attacks in Brussels
2016 Brussels bombings
2016 Dwars door Vlaanderen