This year's Paris-Nice cycling tour has been plagued by inclement weather, forcing adjustments to stages and provoking mixed opinions among the athletes. For example, stage 4 was halted due to snow, hail and heavy rain, and was resumed with 28km to go, but some riders believe the day should have been declared over.
Portuguese rider João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who won the stage, believes the whining must stop. "The worst was over and there were no safety risks. We slowed down 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, who is responsible for cyclist safety at Paris-Nice, recalled that in previous tours there have been situations where cyclists have had to ride in 10 cm of snow. "If there are 143 cyclists in a group, there are also 143 opinions," Gouvenou said. "We quickly realized that the stage had to be stopped, but leaving it unfinished would not have been a good solution because at that point there would have been great difficulties in transporting the cyclists to the hotels. Moreover, the weather improved."
However, Dane Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), who emerged as the overall leader after stage 4, had a different opinion. "I don't think we should have gone all the way. I'm not saying it was too dangerous, but we had to go super slow for 10-12 km downhill and everyone was freezing. Nobody could brake. Then we were given 5 or 10 minutes to warm up. It wasn't enough," complained Vingegaard.
Organizers announced that they have shortened stage 7 of the Paris-Nice cycling tour by 109 km due to difficult weather conditions, with two mountains being omitted.
Bota Lume 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
🌧 Course neutralisée en raison d'une averse de grêle. ⚠️
— Paris-Nice (@ParisNice) March 12, 2025
La chaussée étant extremely glissante, les coureurs sont invités à continuer leur route à allure modére.
🌧 The race is being neutralized due to the weather conditions ⚠️
Race regulators signal the riders to slow down.… pic.twitter.com/NprESsuj6i
