Due to an "unstable sheet of ice that could fall onto the road", organisers were forced to shorten stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia Women, and relocate the finish of the key mountain stage to 1km from the top of the Colle delle Finestre.
The dramatic news was announced with 7.5km of the 18.1km climb remaining on the race's social media, after there were reports of the road being blocked at the top of the climb following an avalanche.
"UPDATE FROM RACE DIRECTION Due to an unstable sheet of ice that could fall onto the road, for safety reasons, the stage will finish approximately 1 km before the Colle delle Finestre GPM," read a post on the Giro d'Italia Women's X account.
Latest Videos From
Speaking after the shortened stage, RCS Sports & Events CEO Paolo Bellino shed some more light on the avalanche risk, which forced the organisers into action.
"We decided to shorten the stage because of a section of ice high up on the mountain. The nature park authorities declared it dangerous due to the risk of a collapse," said Bellino.
"The ice is resting on rock, and if it breaks away, it would fall straight down onto the final 500m [before the top of the climb].
"It is a huge disappointment for us. The temperature rose a lot over two hours. There was already a small avalanche at 1 pm that was cleared away, but then the person in charge of avalanche safety went to check and found a very hazardous section. It was absolutely unforeseeable, but the safety of the race convoy and the riders comes first."
At the time of the announcement, FDJ-Unitez SUEZ had already shredded the group of favourites down significantly on the climb through Celia Gery and Lauren Dickson.
Their leader, Demi Vollering, went on to win the abbreviated stage in anticlimactic fashion, crossing a line signalled by two rocks 1km from the summit, but with massive crowds still to greet them.
As the riders were informed via race radio of the late changes on the climb, it left little room for the GC battle to unfold as was planned, with Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM), Isabella Holgren (Lidl-Trek), and pink jersey Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) able to follow all of her attacks.
This was the first appearance of the Finestre at the women's Giro, having been an icon of the men's race where the likes of Chris Froome and Simon Yates have thrived in the past.
Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our Giro d'Italia Women coverage. Don't miss any of the breaking news, reports, and analysis from one of the biggest women's stage races of the season. Find out more.
