Four kilometres from the Galibier summit, the peloton will pass a monument to legendary Italian climber Marco Pantani.l(Image credit: RCS Sport)
Fifteen years after Marco Pantani attacked on the Galibier (pictured) to set up his 1998 Tour de France victory, the Giro d'Italia pays tribute with a summit finish on the Galibier.(Image credit: AFP)
Giro d'Italia organisers RCS Sport has announced that Sunday's 15th stage will not finish at the summit of the Col du Galibier but 4.25km further down the climb at the Marco Pantani memorial.
DO NOT RUN Organisers hopeful that Galibier will remain part of Giro d’Italia
Rumours of changes to the stage have be swirling for 48 hours, with the French authorities ready to cancel or drastically cut the stage, moving the finish down the valley to Valloire, after the Col du Télégraphe.
However after long negotiations with French authorities it has been agreed that the stage will finish at the Pantani monument, 10km further up the Galibier, at an altitude of 2,295m. The Pantani monument marks the spot where Italian rider attacked in the rain to secure victory in the 1998 Tour de France.
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RCS Sport confirmed the news via the official race Twitter feed and then issued an official statement.
They confirmed that the stage will follow the start as planned in Cesana Torinese and climb the Col du Mont Cenis after 58km because there is no alternative route over the Alps into France. The stage will start at 1:00pm local time instead of 12:30 as scheduled.
RCS Sport said they will continue to monitor the weather during the night and be ready to change the route to protect the safety of the riders and the Giro d'Italia caravan.
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Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
