"We have had other editions of Paris-Nice in which riders rode in ten centimetres of snow" - Paris-Nice director defends' races actions over race neutralization

The riders have set off for stage 5 of Paris-Nice and have left behind a day of monumental difficulties weather wise. The French race does usually have it's stints of bad weather, but when a hailstorm began falling on the peloton's shoulders the race was stopped. There were positives, there were negatives, but the race organizers believe the right decisions were made.

“A new UCI protocol, which was installed last winter, obliged us to intervene in these dangerous circumstances," race director Thierry Gouvenou said in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws. Preventively, the race was neutralized when conditions worsened on the road before any accident took place, a positive sign.

Then however the race resumed whilst neutralized, but not everyone got the message. Gouvenou shares that the team were told to get back on the bikes through race radio, but either riders did not have their earphones on or DS' did not hear the information whilst out of the car helping out the riders with clothes. "Those question marks? Strange. The information was distributed via Radio Tour. Riders have ‘earpieces’, don’t they? And otherwise there are always the team leaders (the DS', ed.).”

There was the possibility of neutralizing and then cancelling the stage in that initial location 45 kilometers away from the finish, but logistically he deemed it to be unviable. “Impossible. There were no team buses. How should riders have protected themselves or warmed up there, in that place? With 143 riders, there are 143 different opinions, of course.”

“The fact is: we have had other editions of Paris-Nice in which riders rode in ten centimetres of snow. Conditions that we were now far removed from. The weather improved. That made it responsible to continue riding in our opinion.” Sure rnough the peloton then did make it to the finish, but with a rider abandoning from hypothermia, more questions came about of whether they really should've continued the race under such circumstances.

The weather is not as brutal, but Gouvenou is aware that the chance continues to exist for another episode such as this Wednesday's. "We will keep a close eye on the situation. And we will certainly watch over the safety of the riders.”