Paris-Nice Queen stage in jeopardy due to heavy snow and temperature forecasts as race organisers draw up 'plan B'

The stage currently under threat is the penultimate stage. As it stands, stage 7 is set to be 138.7km in length, beginning in Nice, taking on the climbs of the Côte de Carros and Côte de Bouyon in the first half, before a summit-finish in Auron, which is 7.3km in length with an average gradient of 7.2%

However, current forecasts suggest that the temperature in Auron on Saturday will reach a low of -2°C, and with heavy snow showers, which puts the penultimate stage of the 2026 edition in jeopardy.

Paris-Nice is no stranger to weather conditions impacting the race in recent editions, and in particular stages that were set to finish in Auron.

The ski station located in the Alpes-Maritimes region was set to host a stage finish in the 2024 edition, but the stage had to be completely re-altered due to adverse weather conditions. 

Bad luck struck once more in 2025, when the penultimate stage, finishing atop the summit at Auron, was slashed in distance. The stage was still able on the climb, where Michael Storer claimed the stage win, and Matteo Jorgenson defended the yellow jersey en route to winning Paris-Nice for the second year running.

ASO Course designer Thierry Gouvenou has told Sporza ahead of the sixth stage that the race organisers are doing everything they can to come up with a solution if the race won't be able to go ahead in its current state, and confirmed that cancelling the stage is not an option they are looking at.

"At the moment, we are consulting with the French government, the regional government, and the municipalities to see if we can draw up a plan B," Gouvenou told Sporza. "We want to avoid ending up in a situation where we would have to cancel the race."

"Plan B is likely to shorten the stage and look for a finish location at a slightly lower altitude. That is what we are currently looking into," added Gouvenou.

The 2026 season has already seen plenty of racing impacted due to weather conditions, mainly due to the wind in Spain

For example, the time trial at the Volta Comunitat Valenciana saw GC times neutralised due to high winds, whilst the Queen stage of the Setemana Valenciana was cancelled. Both stages of the Vuelta a Murcia were impacted, with the first stage cut in distance, before the second stage was neutralised amid storm conditions.