"Rain is part of our job, but snow is different": critical Jonas Vingegaard questions Paris–Nice finish

The Dane already had two stage wins in the bag, so he had little reason to take unnecessary risks. “I think it is very important that we race. This is one of the biggest races in the world, but it was pretty slippery towards the end,” he said after the finish in Isola, surrounded by snow.

“I backed off at the right moment and made sure I did not get caught up in a crash. I’m doing well, and I hope that is the case for everyone,” added the team leader, who still saw several riders hit the ground in the finale.

If it had been up to part of the peloton, the stage would have been shortened even further. Speaking to Cyclism’Actu, Vingegaard explained: “We were, and still are, very much in favour of racing. You have to understand that Paris–Nice is one of the biggest races in the world, there are many sponsors involved, and they want to stage their finish, so we were keen to race.”

“But when the finish line is here, maybe it is no longer possible. It would have been better to place the finish line 10 kilometres earlier. For us as riders, rain is part of the job, but when there is snow, it is different. There were a few crashes at the end, probably because it was very slippery. In that situation, it would have been better to say, ‘Let’s move the finish line a little earlier.’ That was what we actually wanted.”

In the end, Vingegaard got through the day without damage and will start Sunday’s final stage in Nice with a comfortable lead. “Hopefully the weather will be better then. I just hope I can keep the jersey all the way to the finish,” he said.