2015 Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop
| 2015 UCI Europe Tour | |||
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 1 May 2015 | ||
| Distance | 205 km (127.4 mi) | ||
| Results | |||
The 2015 Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop (in German Rund um Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt) was scheduled to be the 54th edition of the Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop semi-classic cycling race; it would have taken place on 1 May 2015. The race was cancelled the day before it was scheduled to take place because of a suspected terrorist plot similar to the Boston Marathon bombings.
Planned event
The race was to have taken place on 1 May 2015 and was rated as a 1.HC event by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).[1] The planned route was 205 kilometres (127 mi) in length, starting in Eschborn and ending in Frankfurt; the course included several hills.[2] The defending champion was Alexander Kristoff (Team Katusha).[3] The favourites for victory included Kristoff and John Degenkolb (Team Giant–Alpecin), who had between them won the Milan–San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and the Paris–Roubaix.[4]
Teams
22 teams were invited to take part in the race. Six of these were UCI WorldTeams; seven were UCI Professional Continental teams; eight were German UCI Continental teams; the last was a German national team.[5]
UCI WorldTeams
UCI Professional Continental teams
UCI Continental teams
National teams
- Germany
Cancellation
On 30 April 2015, the day before the race was due to have taken place, local authorities announced that it had been cancelled due to "indications of a possible threat to the population".[6] A couple, one of whom was described as a "suspected Islamic extremist", were arrested the previous day at their home in Oberursel, which is along the race route.[6] Various items were found in their house, including a homemade pipe bomb, bomb-making materials, an automatic rifle, ammunition and a canister full of petrol. One of the couple had apparently bought hydrogen peroxide and alcohol at a hardware shop and had been seen exploring a forest along the race route.[7][8] He had connections to Salafists in Frankfurt.[9] The German newspaper Die Welt suggested that he was involved with Al-Qaida.[10] Security officials suggested that the couple may have been planning an attack similar to the Boston Marathon bombings,[5][6] while it was also suggested that there may have been connections to Adem Yilmaz, one of those convicted as part of a bomb plot in 2007.[11]
References
- ↑ "Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt 2015 – Classic". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
- ↑ "Strecke Elite HC – Guide" (PDF). eschborn-frankfurt.de (in German). Retrieved 22 April 2015.
- ↑ "Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt 2014 – Classic". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
- ↑ Bijlsma, Matthijs (30 April 2015). "Voorbeschouwing: Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt 2015". Wielerflits (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- 1 2 "Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- 1 2 3 "German cycling race cancelled after discovery of bomb-making kit". The Guardian. Associated Press. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ↑ "In the News: Police foil terror threat to German bike race". VeloNews. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ↑ "Rund um Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt cancelled after police thwart possible terrorist action". Cyclingnews.com. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ↑ "Duitse wielerwedstrijd afgelast wegens terreurdreiging". NOS.nl. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ↑ Maushagen, Peter (30 April 2015). "German police foil Islamist attack ahead of Frankfurt cycle race". Reuters. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ↑ Eckardt, Andy (30 April 2015). "Frankfurt Prosecutor: Couple Arrested on Suspicion of Plotting 'Criminal Act'". NBC News. Retrieved 30 April 2015.