Penultimate stage of Paris-Nice cut short due to snow

Snowy weather conditions have forced the penultimate stage of Paris-Nice to be shortened and altered. Although the planned finish was on the slopes of the Auron ski resort, Stage 7 will now conclude on the Madone d'Utelle and see the riders tested on the 15.3km long cat-1 climb.

The decision was made and announced by ASO, the race organisers, on Thursday evening, citing "unfavourable weather conditions in the Alpes-Maritimes department."

The decision has been long anticipated, with pictures of the snow-covered peak circulating on social media over the last few days. At the time of writing, over 11cm of snow is forecast to fall on the Auron resort between Friday and Saturday, making the mountain impassable for the Paris-Nice peloton.

"According to the weather forecast for the weekend, and in order to ensure the safety of the riders, the Paris-Nice organising teams, in agreement with the city of Nice, the Nice Côte d'Azur Metropole, the Alpes-Maritimes Prefecture and after consulting the panel of commissaires of the International Cycling Union (UCI), the representatives of the teams and riders (AIGCP, CPA), have decided to modify the route of stage 7," read the statement on Thursday evening.

Reduced from 197.9km to 104km, the penultimate stage will still see the riders begin the day in Nice and ride the original route for the first 89km. At this point, however, the riders will sit at the foot of the Madone d'Utelle, which has been added to the stage as a worthy climax in its own right.

Extending for 15.3km, the new summit finish averages 5.7% but contains ramps up to 8%. This makes it a similar test to that of the Auron resort, which averages 7.2% for 7km but climbs for much of the final 20km. Instead, Madone d'Utelle will decide the race leader heading into the eight and final stage on Sunday.

It will not be the first time that Paris-Nice visits Madone d'Utelle, with stage 6 of the 2016 edition finishing on the mountain and won by Team Katusha's Ilnur Zakarin. The Russian outsprinted the likes of Geraint Thomas and Alberto Contador on the day, but it was Thomas who moved into the leader's jersey and held it until the end of the race.

Jayco AlUla's Luke Plapp is currently holding the yellow leader's jersey heading into the final three stages, but Santiago Buitrago of Bahrain Victorious is clipping at his heels and the likes of Brandon McNulty, João Almeida (both UAE Team Emirates) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) all sit within 30 seconds of the race lead.

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Paris-Nice - Stage 7

• Dates 9 Mar
• Race Length 103 kms
• Start Nice
• Finish Madone d'Utelle
• Race Category Elite Men