Organizers of Milan-San Remo have decided on a new route for the Italian classic after the mayors of the coastal town near Savona refused permission for the race to pass through their streets.

Milan-San Remo is scheduled for Saturday, August 8 on the new UCI World Tour calendar, the peak of the Italian holiday season, when hundreds of thousands of people flock to the coast to escape the summer heat during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Because the Ligurian coastline is hilly, there is only one major road along the coast, and despite numerous meetings and assurances by race organizer RCS Sport, several towns believe it is impossible to safely close the road to allow the Milan - San Remo to pass through They believe that it is impossible to safely close the road to allow the Milan - Sanremo to pass through. They have refused to issue the necessary legal permits to close the road.

RCS Sport confirmed late Tuesday a completely different route from central Milan to the interior. It avoids the mid-race climb of Passo Turchino and the descent to Genoa, and also avoids the climb of Capi along the coast.

Instead, the race heads southwest via Alessandria to Piemonte, climbing up to Niera Belbo and over the 4km Colle di Nava climb before descending 20km to the coast.

The last 40 km of the original Milan-San Remo route and the climbs of Cipressa and Poggio will be covered by the modified route, creating a different and more demanding race. After a long neutral section from the center of Milan, the final race distance will be approximately 299 km.

"We tried to find a solution to the problem, but the local mayors explained that there is no solution. We will have to sign our rejection because of the position of the mayors because of the critical problems," the chairman of Savona Prince told local media.

"Milano-Sanremo will never die, it was founded in 1907, held in 1946 after the war on rocky roads, and Fausto Coppi gave hope to millions of Italians," La Gazzetta dello Sport defiantly wrote.

"The race will be held on Saturday, August 8, on a new route that cancels almost all of the original route on the Ligurian road.