Rumours had been spreading all throughout the morning on the possibility of today's Giro d'Italia stage being shortened once more, and now they have been confirmed by the race organization.
Bad weather at the start in Borgofranco d'Ivrea saw the riders do the sign-in, but behind the scenes it has been agreed that the start would not take in the city and the riders would instead travel by bus to the new start of the stage. After being shortened, the Col du Gran San Bernardo (initially the Cima Coppi of the race) has been removed from the race, the riders will start the stage already across the border and the descent, at the base of the climb to Croix de Couer.
The stage will now be 74 kilometers long, starting in Le Châble, after the extreme weather protocol has been used. The Giro d'Italia has thus far been swarmed with heavy rain and cold stages leaving many riders ill and forced to abandon. Mads Pedersen was yet another high-profile rider who has had to abandon the race this morning.
Despite concerns the descent of the Croix de Coeur will not be neutralized or removed, with the riders going up and down the climb and then proceeding the forecasted route into Crans-Montana, a day where differences can still be dramatic in the overall classification.
UPDATE
Due to some of the team buses being delayed in their arrival to the new start point of the stage, the beginning of the racing has been delayed yet again to 15:00CET.
Viste le avverse condizioni meteo, soprattutto nella parte italiana, la Commissione ha deciso di venire incontro alle richieste degli atleti applicando l'Extreme Weather Protocol. La tappa 13 viene accorciata con il nuovo km 0 che sarà posto in località Le Chable, all'imbocco…
