After the departure of double stage winner and race leader, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), from the Giro d'Italia yesterday another big change to the race is expected to be announced imminently.
European media outlets are reporting the climb that should have been the highest mountain pass on this year's route is being scrapped from Friday's stage 13 because of snow.
As the roads are blocked with snow, and there is a fear of avalanches with fresh snowfall also expected, the Col du Grand Saint-Bernard will now not feature on the route of Friday's stage, from Borgofranco d’Ivrea to Crans-Montana.
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While the stage was due to be 207km, it will now be shortened to 199km. The stage will still feature an uphill finish as Col du Grand Saint-Bernard was set to be the first of three categorised climbs, rather than the final climb of the day.
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However, the scrapping of a 34.3km HC climb, with an average gradient of 5.5 per cent and reaching almost 2,500 meters above sea level, is still a blow for the race.
Several climbs, including that of the Col de la Croix-de-Cœur and the final climb to Crans-Montana, remain on the course, meaning the stage could still play host to a great battle between the general classification men.
The road leading to the summit of Col du Grand Saint-Bernard remains snow-covered on the Valais side. And with further snow forecast, it means the riders will now go through a tunnel during the stage rather than tackling the mountain pass.
