Belgian rider Broeckx in hospital after crash involving motorbikes

PARIS/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian rider Stig Broeckx has been taken to hospital for tests after the 26-year-old was involved in a crash involving motorbikes on the third stage of the Tour of Belgium, his Lotto-Soudal team said on Saturday.

"Stig Broeckx will be transferred to the hospital in Aachen for tests," Lotto-Soudal said on their Twitter feed.

The crash involved two motorbikes and 19 riders, a spokesman for the race told Reuters. Five of the riders were taken to hospitals near the crash, which took place near Verviers, close to the border with Germany.

The spokesman said that only Broeckx needed serious medical attention but declined to give more details on his condition.

The stage was abandoned after the crash, the official website of the tour said.

The accident is likely to trigger new controversy over the safety of cycling races. In March, Belgian rider Antoine Demoitie died after being hit by a motorbike during the Gent-Wevelgem one-day race, the latest in a string of incidents involving race vehicles over the last year.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot in Paris and Francesco Guarascio in Brussels; Editing by Clare Fallon)