The Critérium du Dauphiné, which is currently taking place in the Alps, imposes masks on all supporters. The next Tour de France will require wearing the same accessory and plans to restrict certain access to the public: the departure from Nice on August 29 will be behind closed doors, as well as certain climbs. The Tour of Lombardy will adopt even more radical measures for its 114e edition scheduled for Saturday: none fan will not be allowed on the 231 kilometers of route between Bergamo and Como, and in particular in the mythical climbs of Ghisallo and Sormano. The prefecture of the province of Bergamo has even forbidden motorists to park near the route, to avoid any temptation to encourage the runners, including the outgoing winner, the Dutchman Bauke Mollema.
The Italian race, considered one of the five greatest classics on the cycling calendar (with Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège), took big risks by sticking to the calendar 2020, in one of the most affected regions in Europe by the Covid-19. The province of Bergamo deplores 7,796 deaths between March and April against 1,700 last year during the same period, and the images of soldiers evacuating the coffins have become symbols of a quasi-state of siege. The Tour of Lombardy, which starts from Via Roma, in the heart of the city, will also pass 3 kilometers from the John XXIII hospital traumatized by the influx of the sick and the dead.
The bad memory of Calcio
At the end of July, the prospect of hosting a cycling race in this martyred region seemed to delight local elected officials. “The restart of the city also involves the Tour of Lombardy, said Bergamo Mayor Giorgio Gori (Democratic Party). Bergamo turns the page on the painful events of spring and is reborn to the world through places of art, culture, entertainment and major sporting events, even more beautiful and stronger than before. “ Marco Galli (independent, center right), deputy mayor for sports of Como, the arrival city, was delighted: “Football has resumed behind closed doors. Cycling, meanwhile, reconnects with the public and fervor, it will show a lively and open city. ”
The authorities decided otherwise on Wednesday, demanding that the mayors of the municipalities crossed by the peloton “Prevent and in all cases prevent public access to areas contiguous to the race”. The directive consists in applying a government decree of August 8, according to which “Open-air competitions of interest recognized by Cuneo [Comité national olympique italien, ndlr] and the federations concerned will take place without the presence of the public ”. All disciplines are placed on the same regime as Calcio, suspected of being a source of the spread of the virus since the meeting on February 19 in Milan between Atalanta Bergamo and the Spanish club Valencia, which would have been the «zero match» of the epidemic in northern Italy.
RCS Sport, the organizing company of the Tour of Lombardy, took note of this closed session, while hoping that its flagship event, the Giro, will be able to accommodate spectators. Originally scheduled for May and June, the event was postponed from October 3 to 25, and its planned inaugural departure from Budapest (Hungary) was moved to Sicily. It will be a “Giro of rebirth”, they already promise, while all major events are suspended on the appearance of a possible “second wave” of Covid-19.
Pierre Carrey
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