Organizers of the New York City Marathon are putting their foot down on race day this year — just not in the way you might expect. 

In a surprise statement released Tuesday, the organizers said, “No unsanctioned bicycles will be allowed on the marathon course once it is closed to traffic that morning.”

Anyone riding on the course before the race will be “diverted and removed by the authorities,” the statement said, adding that the “decision was made to ensure everyone’s safety.”

In previous years, cyclists would ride the 26.2-mile course before the race began, taking advantage of the relatively empty city streets. 

The unsanctioned event, which was covered by the New York Times last year, grew in popularity in recent years, attracting hundreds of cyclists riding through the closed racing course in the pre-dawn hours.

Organizers of the race said the city’s Department of Transportation closes the streets along the course ahead of the race to allow delivery trucks, ambulances and staff and volunteers to set up medical tents and water stations before the starting gun goes off.

The marathon is set to take place on Sunday, Nov. 3. Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas will serve as the grand marshal.