Two Canberra cyclists are among a group of Australians who have vowed to complete their racing commitments in Belgium despite the Brussels terrorist attacks.
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Canberra athletes Kimberley Wells and Louisa Lobigs were among two teams of Australian cyclists, coaches and staff in Belgium for competitions after the deadly explosions at Brussels airport and a busy metro station rocked the capital.
At the time of the attack, a group of Cycling Australia High Performance athletes, coaches and staff were either already based in, or due to arrive, in Belgium ahead of a number of international races.
Among them was Wells, who lives in the ACT, and posted on social media soon after the bombings to say she was safe.
Wells told Fairfax Media they were driving from Luxembourg to Oudenaarde via the Brussels airport to collect teammate Chloe McConville when the first bomb exploded.
"Chloe's plane was minutes from landing when the bomb went off, so she was placed in a holding pattern then flown to another airport," she said.
She said they abandoned plans to drive into Brussels and instead continued on to their original destination via back roads.
But once they pulled off the main thoroughfares, they had to pull over to gain their bearings - and that's when the gravity of the attacks hit home.
"A Belgian lady came out of her house to help us and even let us inside to use her bathroom. The shock and tragedy brought strangers together," Wells said.
Wells said their next race, the Dwars Door Vlaanderan, went ahead but they observed a minute silence at midday along with the rest of Belgium.
The Australian women's team also wore black arm bands during the race.
Lobigs also wryly posted on Twitter she was "still in one piece".
Cycling Australia has confirmed all of the Australian team members were safe and well.
Chief executive Nicholas Green said his thoughts and wishes were with the victims, families and friends and all of Belgium.
"We can confirm that our staff in Europe and Australia are closely monitoring this situation," he said.
"All riders and staff continue to be briefed and provided with the most up to date information to ensure they remain safe."
Women's road coach Martin Barras said the mood across the country seemed to be sober yet determined, with Belgians not wanting the terrorists to prevent them getting on with their lives.
Mr Barras said cycling was "bigger than religion" in Belgium at this time of year and authorities had been keen to continue the spring racing competitions as scheduled.
"All of that has been dealt with very efficiently. The Belgians are very, very resilient in regards to what's happening right now."
"Obviously we've sat down and discussed it at the team meeting yesterday. Most of the girls have never been through anything like this and they've all been given the [option] to not start if they don't feel safe.
"They're of the same mind as the Belgians and just want to get on with it."
Back home, the National Carillon and the Kings Avenue Bridge will be lit up in Belgium's national colours of red, black and yellow to express solidarity with the Belgian capital in the wake of the attacks.
