After the Belgian town of As cancelled holding the finish of the opening stage of next month's Tour de Wallonie earlier this week, the nearby town of Toubise also decided not to hold the start of the second stage, citing similar coronavirus safety concerns.

On Tuesday, Bruno Lefebvre, mayor of As, announced that he would not hold the finish of the first stage on the 16th "to protect the citizens." On Wednesday, the city council of Toubise, located about 25 km east of As, followed suit and issued a press release explaining why the start of the second stage on the 17th was not welcome.

"Before the health crisis, the city council accepted the start of this stage," according to Sporza, "We believe it was an opportunity to honor cycling and to hold a nice folk festival.

"It also had symbolic value since the Belgian Cycling Federation (KBWB) was founded not so long ago in our city.

"However, the corona crisis no longer allows such events to take place, in accordance with the June 30 cabinet decision and the measures taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus," the statement added, referring to the Belgian government measures that came into effect on July 1.

"Although many measures have been eased during this period, we must not let our guard down. The figures of the pandemic transition show this. Our task is to ensure the safety of the population and for that reason we have decided to cancel the start of the second stage in Tubiz," the statement concluded.

Tour de Wallonie organizers had been working hard to secure an alternative site for the opening day finish in As, but were also forced to find an alternative site in Tubize for the start of the second stage.

The stage race was originally scheduled for July 27-31, but was moved to August 16-19, one day shorter than usual, making it a more attractive prelude to the Tour de France (August 29-September 20) According to Sporza, the Lot Soudal Philippe Gilbert, Caleb Huang, and Thomas De Gendt, as well as Greg Van Avermaat (CCC Team) and Oliver Naessen (AG2R La Mondiale) will gather in Soigny a month later.