Michael Rogers fears cycling's accessibility could leave it open to terrorist attack

Former world time trial champion Michael Rogers fears cycling races such as the Tour de France could be vulnerable to terrorist attacks following the tragic events in Paris on Friday.

So far, 129 people are confirmed as having been killed in a series of co-ordinated attacks in the French capital on Friday evening.

Besides attacks on the Bataclan Theatre and bars and restaurants in the east of the city, the Stade de France in St-Denis, where France were playing Germany at football in a friendly international, was also targeted.

Tinkoff-Saxo rider Rogers says that cycling’s unique accessibility, which puts spectators much closer to the action than in perhaps any other sport, may leave it vulnerable.

But he also said that given the distance of stages of events such as the Tour de France, it is impossible for race organisers to cordon off the route.

He told the Sydney Morning Herald: "You could only imagine the expense for the organisers to barrier the whole circuit for hundreds of kilometres, I don't think that's a feasible thing to do," Rogers told the newspaper.

"Let's see, let's see, I think we have to take it step by step and we all have to understand that those possibilities are very difficult in cycling and it would absolutely kill the sport."

Earlier this year, one of the biggest one-day bike races in Germany was cancelled amid concerns it was being targeted by terrorists.

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Rogers, who has ridden the Tour de France 11 times and is a triple world time trial champion, said: "It's been in the back of my mind, events such as the Tour, a big international event where the whole world is watching.

"A lot of riders do think about it because we pass a lot of people by the side of the road and it's quite easy for a potential attack.

"I hope the authorities are doing work in the background making sure the course is clear, but it's certainly becoming an issue especially [when] this year in May one of the races in Germany was cancelled because authorities picked up on a potential attack."

He added, however, that the proximity of fans to riders is one of the things he loves about cycling.

"We have quite a beautiful view from the peloton where we see so many smiling faces and that's a huge motivating factor for the riders as well," he explained.

"If you go back to the UK stages [in the Yorkshire Grand Depart of the Tour de France] last year there were literally millions of people out there and they all had smiles on their face, so it was a special moment for the riders," he added.