The mayors of a number of towns along the second part of the race route of Milan-San Remo, on the coast of the Savona province in Italy, have voiced their concerns to event organiser RCS about the coronavirus due to people potentially lining the race route. At the same time, they say that closing the roads is going to be particularly difficult due to the rescheduled race, set for August 8, now taking place at the height of the summer holidays.
L'Equipe cited Savona News this weekend, which reported that a number of mayors had expressed their concerns to RCS, who may be forced to seek out alternative routes in some cases.
August is the traditional summer holiday period in Italy, with many office workers and families heading to the coast, alongside tourists from elsewhere, to enjoy the warmer weather.
"We have maximum respect for cycling and for a race as sacred as Milan-San Remo, but at a time like this, with an absurd situation with regard to the main roads, at the peak – hopefully – of tourism, with all the usual problems that we face in the summer season further aggravated by COVID-19, the date of the race didn't seem like the best choice," the mayor of Borghetto Santo Spirito, Giancarlo Canepa, told Svsport.it.
"We welcome things starting to return to normal, but we have a thousand problems to deal with. Milan-San Remo happening in September would have been a far better time," he said.
Milan-San Remo normally takes place in March. Last season, it was won by Deceuninck-QuickStep's Julian Alaphilippe, with the Frenchman set to to return to try to defend his title on August 8.
According to L'Equipe, RCS representatives will inspect the roads in question alongside local mayors and the president of the Savona province in order to try to find a solution.