A finale atop the Muur van Geraardsbergen caps off the five-stage WorldTour race The opening stage in Riemst is similarly hilly and will likely lead to a first selection for the overall classification contenders with repeated climbs such as the Côte Slingerberg Côte de Hallembaye and Côte Sur les Coteaux there are two stages suited for the sprinters before the big showdown in Geraardsbergen Detectives from the Federal Police Service have discovered a large laboratory used for the production of synthetic drugs inside a marl cave at Riemst in Limburg Province. The police and civil defence agency had to crawl through a 7-metre-long shaft in order to reach the subterranean drug lab. The investigation into the drug laboratory has been underway at the since the spring. On Wednesday, the police raided a flat on Visésteenweg in Riemst. From the flat, a 7-metre-long shaft led through the underground marl grotto to the drug laboratory. The police assume that mainly amphetamines (speed) were produced at the lab. The police officers, who were accompanied by civil defence staff, came across large quantities of waste from drug production and several boilers in which speed was produced. The criminals were presumably simply hoarding the waste in the marl cave. The Civil Defence Agency and the Federal Police's Soko Clan Lab Response Unit (CRU) are now clearing out this laboratory. Some of the chemical substances present there could pose a danger to the public. The police arrested two people in connection with the investigation. One of them is the 58-year-old resident of the house that provided access to the cave. ​CategoriesCategoriesEnglishJUSTICEDutch man and Belgian woman arrested over explosions in Kerkrade4 February 2025 A 24-year-old Belgian woman and a 40-year-old Dutch man were arrested on Tuesday as part of an investigation into several explosions in the Dutch town of Kerkrade in 2024 three explosions took place near a house in Kerkrade a town close to the Belgian and German borders Two people were arrested on Tuesday morning in Riemst by a Dutch arrest team on suspicion of involvement in two of the three explosions Searches were carried out in the Belgian town of Riemst and the Dutch city of Maastricht investigators found large quantities of illegal fireworks 16 November and 24 December 2024 in the late evening at a house in the Grachterstraat in Kerkrade The most recent explosion also damaged a car It is unclear why the explosions took place and why this particular residence was targeted The Dutch-Limburg public prosecutor's office has asked Belgium to extradite the male suspect The case is under criminal investigation in the Netherlands extensive searches were carried out in the area witnesses were interviewed and CCTV footage was secured Anyone with information about the explosions is asked to contact the police #FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO ROBIN UTRECHT/ABACAPRESS.COM Copy linkGet updates in your mailboxYour email addressSubscribeBy clicking "Subscribe" I confirm I have read and agree to the Privacy Policy rapid and high-quality information 24 hours a day from Belgium and abroad to all Belgian media not to mention entertainment and lifestyle our journalists and press photographers produce hundreds of photos and news stories Since the end of March 2022 English has been added as a language businesses and various organisations that need reliable information Belga News Agency also offers a comprehensive range of corporate services to meet all their communication needs www.belganewsagency.eu By 2023-03-09T13:57:00+00:00 Belgian cooperative BelOrta this week announced the sale of the first strawberries of the season to kick off the new season were supplied by Meyers Softfruit from Riemst to Spar Colruyt Group BelOrta sells 10,000 tonnes of strawberries from various cultivation systems ranging from substrate or open ground cultivation under glass in tunnels or open air,” the cooperative stated the strawberry variety Sonata is the first at BelOrta Malling Centenary and Elegance remain the main varieties.” the average Belgian consumed 1.8kg of strawberries in 2022 with the peak coming between April and July.  The standard packaging for BelOrta’s strawberries is Rpet punnets made from 100 per cent recycled PET material and therefore 100 per cent recyclable.  becoming one of the first examples of circular packaging in the sector with a very low ecological footprint.  “The transition from PET to RPet punnets reduces CO2 emissions by no less than 450 tonnes per year making it one of the most sustainable packaging on the market,” the cooperative said packaging can also be done in cardboard punnets.” Site powered by Webvision Cloud The 2020 BinckBank Tour starts in Blankenberge Belgium with flat roads in West Flanders to Ardooie Rather than continue with a planned 11km individual time trial in Vlissingen in the Netherlands along the North Sea organisers were forced to have a rest day on Wednesday instead The start of Thursday's stage in Philippine and the stage finish in Sittard on Friday also impacted the race which made new plans to keep the entire event in Belgium as the Dutch government imposed new limits prohibiting public attendance at sporting events in its borders Stage 2 was revised for Thursday as a 157km stage with the start and finish in Aalter in East Flanders Aalter is located about 40km south of the original start in Philippine and was planned to host the finish of this route A new course will provide seven local circuits instead of the original three Stage 3 now provide an 8.1km individual time trial in Riemst which was originally set to host of the start of a 195.4km stage to Sittard on Friday The time trial will head from the Albert Canal near Kanne and immediately climb the Slingerberg a 600m climb with an average six per cent grade head north-west before crossing the canal and turning back south-east on the Muizenberg within sight of the Dutch border back to Kanne The final stage on Saturday from Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve to Geraardsbergen remains unchanged It will include four circuits in Geraardsbergen with the traditional finish on the Vesten Bosberg and the Wall of Geraardsbergen.  Text description provided by the architects. Program Complete study of structure, architecture and landscape in collaboration with the artist Jozef Legrand. Project won through an open competition. The Albert Canal, connecting Antwerp with Liège, has been broadened for river traffic up to 9000 tons. The new bridge has a central span of 100m, which allows for a free width of 86m for boat passage. The conditions for this intervention are highly complex since the site is historically preserved. At this very spot, the Second World War started for Belgium. The bunker next to the bridge testifies of this era. Courtesy of Ney&PartnersSpecific features Courtesy of Ney&PartnersThe museum integrates several multifunctional spaces a café/restaurant and an amphitheatre where cultural activities are organised The external walls of the building are 170 m long and made of textured concrete so that they can be used as climbing walls The focus of this building is the information centre on Second World War The tale of the war is illustrated in an artistic way using multimedia elements The original bunker is maintained over the new building as the sole witness of the German invasion that took place 70 years ago Particular attention was given to the road works and their implication through the different construction phases since the project is a landmark gate to the Flanders region for visitors coming from Maastricht You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email they've received offers from Belgian host cities to allow the final three stages to go ahead A surge in coronavirus cases in its biggest cities led the Dutch government to impose new limits prohibiting public attendance at sporting events It forced the cancellation of the BinckBank Tour's individual time trial in Vlissingen on Wednesday the start of Thursday's stage in Philippine and the stage finish in Sittard on Friday Riders were given a rest day on Wednesday rather than head into the Netherlands for the scheduled time trial as organisers engaged in last-minute negotiations to allow the race to go ahead.  They managed to devise a course for stage 3 on Thursday with the original finish town Aalter also hosting the start Riemst - originally host of the start of a 195.4km long stage 4 to Sittard on Friday - will now shift their stage to an 8.1km individual time trial the stages will carefully skirt the Netherlands while remaining within sight of it Dutch BinckBank Tour stages cancelled due to coronavirus surge Philipsen takes sprint on BinckBank Tour stage 1 Amstel Gold races cancelled due to Dutch coronavirus restrictions The time trial will head from the Albert Canal near Kanne and immediately climb the Slingerberg, a 600m climb with an average six per cent grade, head north-west before crossing the canal and turning back south-east on the Muizenberg within sight of the Dutch border back to Kanne. "With this time trial, which runs completely across our territory, we can present our municipality even more beautifully and better than was the case with the original start. Every cycling enthusiast will discover Kanne, one of the most beautiful villages in our country, just like ours." The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox! Thursday's stage will now begin in Aalter, located about 40km south of the original start in Philippine, and finish there as originally scheduled.  "Just like in Aalter, where we can continue the BinckBank Tour on Thursday with a redesigned ride, we are also very grateful to the municipality of Riemst for making this solution possible," said Gert Van Goolen, spokesman for the BinckBank Tour. "It promises to be a great time trial in Limburg. With the help of both Aalter and Riemst, we managed to continue the BinckBank Tour in just half a day." The current classification, with stage 1 winner Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates) at the top of the overall and points standings and Milan Menten (Sport Vlaanderen Baloise) leading the Sprints classification, will remain the same heading into Thursday's stage 2 in Aalter.  The final stage on Saturday from Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve to Geraardsbergen, a hilly one suited to the Classics specialists, now has even more importance for the overall classification. Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999 and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling Italian produces brutally long sprint in Bilzen as Merlier and Groenewegen crash at the finish line getting the better of Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) on the uphill run to the line in Bilzen Axel Zingle (Cofidis) rounded out the podium in third place on a stage marred by a late crash involving sprinter Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease A Bike) and a fall on the finish line for Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) and Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla) Milan’s 10th win of the season saw him find the perfect position inside the final kilometre riding on the wheel of Philipsen’s lead-out man Mathieu van der Poel who holds the first leader’s jersey of the race launched the sprint first with Philipsen next in line Philipsen had the speed to hit the wind and move alongside Milan but wasn’t able to go clear in the final run to the line so Milan held on to win Further back it was Frenchman Zingle who picked up his 18th podium placing of the season while further back Groenewegen and Merlier hit the deck hard as they crossed the finish line after a coming together Milan now leads the race by four seconds from Philipsen while Axel Heuns (TDT-Unibet) lies in third The hilly 164km stage 1 at the Renewi Tour took the peloton to the province of Limburg in northeast Belgium Ascents of the Côte de Hallembaye (three times) and the Slingerberg (twice) featured as the riders took on two laps of the finishing 60km circuit which concluded with an uphill run to the finish line A five-man group consisting of riders from ProTeams made up the break of the day Jordy Bouts and Axel Huens (TDT-Unibet) joined out in the move by Lars Craps (Flanders-Baloise) Huens grabbed bonus seconds and the intermediate sprints jersey after proving himself the quickest at the intermediate sprints and the green kilometre sprints the situation was controlled by the likes of Alpecin-Deceuninck Soudal-QuickStep and Lidl-Trek in anticipation of a bunch sprint finish The WorldTour teams kept the break close by holding the gap at two minutes all day before eventually bringing the quintet back 16km from the finish to set things up for the sprint Visma’s sprinter Kooij wouldn’t be there with the Dutchman getting caught in a major crash 15km from the finish Max Kanter (Astana Qazaqstan) and Nils Eekhoff (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) were also caught in the fall while Alpecin-Deceuninck had to work hard to bring Philipsen back to the front of the race after he was held up The final run back to Bilzen saw numerous teams vie for control of the peloton as Ineos Grenadiers and Bahrain Victorious all leading the way at various points It was Jayco-AlUla who led the way into the final kilometre though world champion Van der Poel lurked close behind The Dutchman duly took it up at the front with 500 metres to go dragging Milan and Philipsen along with him It was another perfect lead-out from Van der Poel getting the jump on Philipsen and holding him off to take the win Results powered by FirstCycling Dani has reported from the world's top races She has interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars and her favourite races are the Giro d'Italia Faharas News is an AI-driven news aggregator that provides real-time updates from a variety of sources We do not take responsibility for the content or the external links provided We use cookies to personalize content and ads , to provide social media features and to analyze our traffic...Learn More