| Mudslides and
torrential rain in February 2001 caused the
closure of Liguria’s Ovada-Voltri road. For
the first time in the history of the Milan-San
Remo the Turchino Pass was not used. Instead the
race went over the climbs of Bric Berton (773m)
and 15km later the Colle del Giovo (516m).
Although more difficult than the Turchino they
failed to make an impression and 'La primavera'
once again came down to a sprint finish as no
team was willing to sacrifice themselves on the
Bric Berton 150km from the finish line. |
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| "I
expected there to more attacks, more
movement," confessed Mapei directeur sportif
Fabrizio Fabbri of the new and much-hyped Bric
Berton and Colle del Giovo climbs. "but both
the weaker and the top teams just sat watching
each other. We were all too worried about the
consequences that those two unknown climbs could
hold for our strongest riders. We were
frightened, to tell you the truth, and
ultimately, in what should have been the hardest
San Remo of them all, Zabel was chauffeured to
the finish in a horse-drawn carriage." |
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| The Milan-San
Remo web sites Italian correspondent Alessandro
Federico has been on the Turchino recently and
reports that there are no problems and the road
is passable to the top. The photographs right
show the damage caused near Fado by last year's
landslides. Click for larger images. Stefano Allocchio, from
RCS, has informed me that the 2002 route will be the
same as last year. Apparently the temporary
by-pass built after the landslides (below) has
not satisfied the technicians from RCS.
The future of
the Turchino as a part of the Milan-San Remo is
uncertain. I will keep you informed.
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