Today we want to explain why we asked to move the races to Sunday.
All the major cycling classics including the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Amstel Gold Race and Liege-Bastogne-Liege are all held on Sunday and our decision was based on three fundamental aspects:
Increased road safety. There is less traffic on Italian roads on Sundays and so there will be a lower risk of problems and less disruption for local residents along the route.
Better global television coverage. Sunday is traditionally a day of sport and Milan-Sanremo and Il Lombardia are watched on television all over the world. Some people have suggested there are a lot of other sporting events on Sundays. That's true but we believe cycling has a huge appeal and so we're not worried about competition from other sports.
Starting from 2014, we want to offer cycling fans a chance to ride events linked to the two races. The idea is to organise them in the cities that host the race finishes and we believe Sunday is the perfect day to hold these events.
We saw that Fabian Cancellara said in a Tweet that he was worried about not racing for four days between Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-Sanremo. We had already considered the problem and Mauro Vegni and his team is already working on a situation to find a solution so that there is a race on either Thursday or Friday.
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From Strade Bianche to Lombardia, via the Giro d'Italia, Michele Acquarone and the RCS Sport team will navigate the season with us, bringing Cyclingnews readers behind the scenes, as they discuss the challenges that face race organisers and share their fresh and innovative approaches to cycling.
