Saturday's Queen stage of Paris-Nice has been shortened due to "unfavourable" weather conditions, with two climbs taken out of the route.
Two categorised climbs, the Côte de Belvédère (3.3km at 5.7%) and the Col de La Colmiane (7.5km at 7.1%) have been taken out of stage seven, with the route now 109.3km rather than 147.8km. There were concerns over the descent from the Colmiane, which led to the decision. The finish to the category one finish at Auron is still on.
It is the second time that the weather has impacted the race this week, with stage four paused due to sleet and rain. Last year the planned finish in Auron was modified completely due to weather, with the race instead finishing up the Madone d'Utelle.
A statement from the organisers ASO on Friday morning read: "The organisers of Paris-Nice have been closely monitoring the weather conditions in the Alpes-Maritimes department throughout the week. These conditions remain unfavourable for Saturday, particularly at higher altitudes.
"To ensure the riders' safety, the decision to modify the route of stage 7 has been made in agreement with the city of Nice, the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur, the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture, and in consultation with the panel of commissaires from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), as well as representatives of the teams and riders (A.I.G.C.P, C.P.A)."
"The arrival set in Auron remains unchanged, but safety conditions are not met to cross the Col de la Colmiane and use the following downhill," an ASO spokesperson continued.
"Thus, the riders will skip the Côte de Belvédère and the Col de La Colmiane and go straight after 55.8 km to continue through the Var Valley and then the Tinée Valley. They will rejoin the originally planned route shortly before Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée for the final 32.5 km of this stage.
"Stage 7 will be 109.3 kilometres long instead of 147.8 kilometres."
On Friday morning, before a flat stage six, defending champion Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) was in the race lead, 36 seconds ahead of Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansghrohe), with João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) a further four seconds behind. Jorgenson's teammate Jonas Vingegaard abandoned the race on Friday after a crash on Thursday.
