Paris-Nice organisers shorten queen stage due to weather

Paris-Nice has already been dramatically affected by weather this week, just as it has in recent editions, and that will continue into the weekend as wintery conditions threaten the Auron summit finish (1,600 m altitude) of Saturday's queen stage.

"Canceling the stage is not an option," ASO's Thierry Gouvenou told Sporza. "Plan B is probably to shorten the stage and look for an arrival location that is slightly lower."

The new profile for a shortened stage 7 of Paris-Nice

And Friday evening, the organisers announced that the stage would shorten to 120.3 km – specifically the first part of the stage, with a finish at Isola Village, elevation 858 metres. That designation is not by accident. "The latest forecasts make an arrival in the Auron resort inconceivable, with the rain-snow line estimated to be around 1,100 metres altitude," organisers wrote in announcing the change. They noted that conditions did not allow consideration of another mountaintop as a finish.

While technically an uphill finish, the climb is long and gradual and likely won't trouble the GC candidates much. It's yet another reminder that Paris-Nice is the race to the sun, not of the sun, an old chestnut that's never been more true than this year.