Following a few weeks of uncertainty, RCS Sport have finally confirmed that there will be no Pompeiana climb in this year's edition of Milano-Sanremo. Landslides have made the roads unusable and there is not enough time to solve the problems in time for the race's March 23 date.

One of the most heated debates in the cycling world has been the decision by Milan-Sanremo organizers RCS Sports to include the new Pompeiana climb in the finale of the historic classic. With the ascent set to rule out many of the sprinters, riders like Mark Cavendish, André Greipel and Marcel Kittel have admitted that the days when they could dream of winning La Classicisima were gone and none of those riders planned to line up at the event.

They may now need to revise their racing schedule after RCS Sport have today confirmed that landslides have forced them to remove the climb from the race. Instead, the race will follow a very traditional formula, with the late climbs of the Cipressa and Poggio being the deciders.

“The roads to the top of the Pompeiana are already closed and there simply is not enough time to repair the damage on the roads and make sure they are ready for 23rd March when the "Classicissima" is due to take place, especially since the weather conditions are continuing to be bad," read an RCS press release.

In fact, the 2014 edition will go from being the hardest ever to being the easiest for years. In 2008, the organizers included the climb of Le Manie which has been part of the route ever since. With the announcement of the Pompeiana, however, RCS took out that climb and it will not make a return in 2014, meaning that the course has not featured less climbing since 2007 when Oscar Freire won the race.

Mauro Vegni, Head of RCS Sport Cycling, said: "We met our interlocutors of the Prefecture and the Province of Imperia, to work out whether it would be possible to keep the original race route, including the ascent of the Pompeiana.

"In view of the current weather conditions, and also considering the damage that the bad weather has caused in recent months, we felt that there was no way we could secure the roads in time for the race. 

“I’d like to thank the Institutions for their help. Thanks to their work, we’ve been able to announce the route change today so that riders, teams and everyone involved in the event has time to take on-board the alterations. 

"The race route planned for this year (including the Pompeiana climb) will be repeated in the next, hoping not to encounter the same problems even in 2015."

The news is bad for riders like Vincenzo Nibali, Alejandro Valverde, and Philippe Gilbert who had made the race an early season target due to the increased difficulty.

The race takes place on March 23.