This year's Paris-Nice cycling race has been plagued by terrible weather, forcing adjustments to the stages and sparking mixed reactions among the athletes. For example, on stage 4, the race was halted due to snow, hail, and heavy rain, and then resumed with 28 km remaining to the finish. However, some cyclists felt the day should have been declared over.
However, Portuguese cyclist João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who won the stage, believes the complaining needs to stop. "The worst was over and there were no safety risks. We reduced our speed on the descents, and there was no reason to abandon the stage. Cycling is not for the faint-hearted! Sometimes it has to be tough," said Almeida, who hails from Southern Europe.
Thierry Gouvenou, responsible for rider safety at Paris-Nice, recalled that in previous tours, cyclists have had to ride in 10 cm of snow. "When there are 143 riders in the peloton, there are 143 opinions," said Gouvenou. "We quickly realized that the stage had to be stopped, but abandoning it would not have been a good solution, as it would have caused major difficulties in transporting the riders to the hotels. Moreover, the weather improved."
However, Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), who took the overall lead after stage 4, held a different view. "In my opinion, we shouldn't have finished. I'm not saying it was too dangerous, but we had to ride 10-12 km downhill super slowly, and everyone was freezing. Nobody could brake. Then we were given 5 or 10 minutes to warm up. That wasn't enough," complained Vingegaard.
Organizers announced that they have shortened the 7th stage of the Paris-Nice cycling race to 109 km due to difficult weather conditions, omitting two climbs.
Snow runs riot at #ParisNice! 😮 💨🥇
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE)March 13, 2025
Less than 24 hours on from @JooAlmeida98’s win, join us behind the scenes at UAE Team Emirates-XRG, as we claim stage 4 of the 'Race to the Sun!' Grab your popcorn and enjoy! 🍿⤵️ #WeAreUAE
🔗 https://t.co/h8mSuHGbTW pic.twitter.com/EI0lGd7szq
🌧 Riders on the storm 🥶#ParisNice pic.twitter.com/khFAg8tjot
— Paris-Nice (@ParisNice)March 12, 2025
🌧 The race is neutralized due to a hail shower. ⚠️
— Paris-Nice (@ParisNice)March 12, 2025
As the road surface is extremely slippery, riders are asked to continue at a moderate pace.
🌧 The race is being neutralized due to the weather conditions ⚠️
Race regulators signal the riders to slow down.… pic.twitter.com/NprESsuj6i
