Paris-Nice GC contender abandoned race with hypothermia

Both Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico pelotons are currently under a stint of bad weather but in the French race the situation got very serious this Wednesday. The peloton was hit by a full-on hailstorm, the race was neutralized for a long time, and ultimately one of the riders fighting for the overall classification abandoned with hypothermia.

It wasn't a massive surprise seeing how the weather had changed, but with 45 kilometers to go the race organizers neutralized the race as conditions were very bad. At the finish in La Loge des Gardes there was even some snowfall. From 45 to 28 kilometers to go the peloton rode through the course neutralized and temperatures were as low as 2 degrees celsius.

Many riders struggled to stay warm, specially in the wet conditions that would significantly make it a more difficult task. Jokingly, some riders even placed their hands in the engines of the race motorbikes, and the frequent sight of arm swinging from the riders indicated the loss of sensation in the hands for some as well. Whilst many criticized the decision to take the stage towards the end, others did not make it at all, including TotalEnergies' Steff Cras. The Belgian had already abandoned the race last year, and this time around he came in with good form after finishing sixth at the Vuelta a Andalucia.

Jonas Vingegaard shared the negative opinion on the race's continuation: "I’m just not happy at all. We should never have ridden this finale. It was freezing and no one in the peloton felt any warmth. After the restart, I didn’t get warm anymore and even now I still feel hypothermic".

"There was no explanation," Matteo Jorgenson said of the chaotic neutralization. "When I was in the back of the car, I saw the red car drive away. I jumped back on my bike, and had to chase for 10 kilometres. When I got back, we stopped again. Then they decided to continue riding. It went up and down, it was a lot for the body".