Giro: Dolomites big stage shortened for bad weather La cultura
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But riders still face Cima Coppi, 2,233m-high Passo Giau
24 Maggio 2021
BELLUNO, MAY 24 - Monday s 16th stage of the Giro
d Italia has been shortened by almost 60 km and will now miss
out two major climbs in what was to have been the Dolomite big
stage due to rain, sleet and freezing high-altitude weather in
Veneto.
With the roads dangerously slick with rain, the hair-raising
descents from the Pordoi and Fedaia passes have been eliminated.
The fearsome Passo Giau, at 2,233 metres the Cima Coppi or
highest point in this year s race, is still scheduled, as is the
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The iconic Passo Pordoi, shown here in a previous edition, will be removed from Monday s stage due to foul weather. Photo: Tim De Waele/Getty Images
Poor weather forced officials to shear two major climbs Monday from the Giro d’Italia’s “queen stage”.
Race officials have altered the route of stage 16 to bypass two climbs Passo Fedaia and Passo Pordoi after cold weather and rain descended on northern Italy.
The new stage route retains what was supposed to be the day’s last climb at Passo Giau (2226m), and will conclude after a 17km descent at the planned finish line in Cortina d’Ampezzo in the valley below. The distance is reduced to 155km.
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Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images,
Every time I try to write about the Giro d’Italia I think it makes me ever so slightly weirder. Yes, I have a lot of personal connection to and interest in the peninsula that my ancestors came from and exported to the US, so it’s always exciting to throw myself into exploring the race. And in cycling terms, its ceiling is “best race of the year,” though its floor is still “forgettable non-Tour-guys smashup.” But I have to confess, every year I go looking for some meaning in the race route, and the message I am supposed to be receiving from RCS. And the results are. mixed.