National

Landslides damage 2020 Olympic road race cycling course in Kanagawa

JIJI

YOKOHAMA – The Sagamihara Municipal Government on Thursday said part of the Olympic cycling road race course has been hit by landslides along National Highway 413 in Kanagawa Prefecture.

The landslides were triggered by the devastating rain caused by Typhoon Hagibis over the weekend, city officials said, adding that full repairs were unlikely anytime soon.

“We’ll have a consultation with the organizing committee” for the 2020 Games, a Sagamihara official said.

Large landslides struck at eight points along the highway in Midori Ward after the 19th named storm of the year dumped over 70 cm of rain in the area.

The road race is to be held on July 25 for men and on the following day for women. About 30 km (18 miles) of the Olympic road race course runs through Sagamihara.

The course starts at a park in western Tokyo and finishes in Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture, after going through Kanagawa and Yamanashi prefectures.

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