Stage four of Paris-Nice was briefly neutralised on Wednesday due to poor weather conditions, before getting underway again, with 28km to go.
In heavy rain, the breakaway and then the peloton were stopped with around 45km to go on the way to La Loge des Gardes, the first summit finish of the race. Race officials rode in front of the riders causing the slowing. It was initially unclear why the race had paused, although there was heavy rain, sleet and slippery roads, with snow at the finish too.
The riders started rolling again after about 10 minutes of being stopped, with television pictures showing a police motorbike which had crashed off the road - potentially the cause of the stoppage. Footage also showed slush from sleet on the road. It is not clear when the race will resume properly.
Riders used the time off racing to change clothes and take on hot fluids. At the time of the neutralisation, the day's break of seven riders had over two minutes on the peloton, with another group of three behind. When the race started rolling, there were 10 riders up the road.
The race was once again stopped with 28.8km to go, with riders in the break being told that they could return to their cars before the race restarted. The peloton was then shown stopped, waiting for riders who had dropped off the back. The race resumed with the break being let off first, at that point.
When the race was resumed, the break was given the same gap it had when the race was neutralised, but almost 20km had been take out of the course, possibly weighting the stage in favour of the men up the road.
The Paris-Nice account initially posted on X: "The race is being neutralised due to the weather conditions. Race regulators signal the riders to slow down."
It followed with: "The race is back on! The 7 breakaway riders continue their journey, with the Foss-Tarling duo chasing 1'35'' behind, and the peloton at 2'20''."
