Tomorrow’s Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt has been cancelled due to a terrorist threat. Last night, a couple were arrested by German police in a town near Frankfurt and the authorities feel that they have thwarted a terrorist attack.
According to CNN, “German media are reporting that a man and a woman were arrested on suspicion of planning a bomb attack on a bicycle road race that is scheduled to run near Frankfurt on Friday.”
Peter Beuth, the interior minister for Hesse said “Police investigations at this stage indicate that we have thwarted an Islamist attack.”
The German media reports say police think the arrested pair were Salafists plotting to detonate a homemade bomb at a spot where the racing cyclists would have passed in a forest near Oberursel. A pipe bomb packed with nails, other explosives and at least one assault rifle were said to have been recovered from the couple’s home.
Ireland’s Sam Bennett was amongst those set to take part in the UCI 1.HC race formerly known as Rund um den Henninger Turm, and the sprinter could have been in contention to get a good result. Amongst the other top sprinters who had been down to start were Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) and John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin).
