After restart chaos and decapitated queen stage, Lefevere is pissed at organization: "You'd think they have enough know-how"

For the Belgian ex-team boss, the scenes from Paris-Nice felt like déjà vu. In 2014, Rigoberto Urán lost his shot at winning the Giro d’Italia after a similar race stoppage due to extreme weather. While many riders were still near the team cars, the race was suddenly restarted, allowing Nairo Quintana to gain over four minutes on Omega Pharma-Quick Step’s pink jersey wearer—securing the foundation for his overall victory. “That was outright race manipulation back then, and it was the same thing on Wednesday in Paris-Nice,” Lefevere raged.

"Let me start by saying that I already thought the decision itself was wrong. If you neutralize the race at that point—literally in the middle of nowhere—what are all these frozen riders supposed to do? The team buses were at the finish, the support cars don’t have space for seven riders, and there wasn’t a single house in sight." Several riders, including Matteo Jorgenson, described the awful conditions, stating that during the neutralization, he actually felt at his worst.

The Amaury Sports Organisation (A.S.O.) claimed that rider safety was the priority, but Patrick Lefevere believes they made the wrong call. “The reason for neutralization was the slippery descent. But why not just let the riders descend in a controlled manner at ten kilometers per hour? Apparently, a Garde Républicaine motorcycle had already crashed in the hail, and Decathlon-AG2R’s team car was also involved in an accident. But in a controlled descent, there wouldn’t have been an issue for the riders.”

Lefevere’s biggest frustration lies with the organizers, who, in his view, should have a much clearer protocol for race restarts. “The chaos on Wednesday—and in the Giro of 2014—is unworthy of a WorldTour race. You would think organizations at this level have enough know-how to execute a restart properly. Apparently not. Movistar was right at the front, while Vlasov and Vingegaard were still in or between the team cars.” In the end, Vlasov lost over 15 minutes in the disastrous stage.

"I also read that the queen stage is being drastically shortened," the former Soudal Quick-Step team boss continued. "It’s good that they made the decision in time, but if I may say so: ASO brings this weather misery upon themselves. Last year, the exact same stage to Auron was scheduled for Saturday, and even then, it couldn’t be run in full."

Back then, the Col de la Colmiane was removed due to heavy snowfall. Now, the same climb has been scrapped again, shortening the queen stage by 40 kilometers and significantly reducing the total elevation gain. "It’s unfortunate, but predictable if you choose to head inland away from Nice and the Côte d’Azur. Auron is a ski resort, and they usually pay good money to host the race. But you shouldn’t be surprised when the weather there in mid-March is completely unsuitable. In the words of Oliver Naesen: this is a bike race, not a giant slalom."