Paris-Nice 2026, March 8-15

[Krzysztof_O]

We're going down a rabbit hole and you're leading. Columbia doesn't rank in the top ten of wettest spots. Those honors go to Indian regions, Cameroon (African continent), Maui, HI, Kauai, HI-both US....Here's a real comparison: Washington State's Olympic peninsula averages 200-255 inches of rainfall a year. The Olympic Mountain range isn't tall but it's an effective barrier. Poulsbo, Washington is on the East toe of those hills and get 35 inches of rain. Seattle, a mere 20 miles East averages 35 inches of rain and they are at the same elevation. Humbolt County, CA gets 180 inches a year but we regularly trained West of there and seldom got wet after late Spring. You just don't ride on the wettest time of day in the wettest place. Rider's birthplace doesn't determine their ability unless they are exclusively riding there.

Yup. Mountain ranges along western coasts at mid- and high- altitudes are recipe for *** weather. It's a no coincidense that fiord landscapes appear right there: the accumulation of snow caused strong glaciation forming dramatic u-shaped valleys. When going on holidays to beautiful fiord area one shouldn't have high hopes for good weather: without bad weather there would be no fiords! I experienced this in Norway. OTOH behind the mountain barrier it can be very dry.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

I would also like to say: this route is awful now and it's inexcusable that, if you are planning on finishing in a place that has necessitated a snow-related route change both previous times, you don't have a remotely comparable alternative at hand when you do wind up needing to change the route. I hope that this is the last time in a long time that they try an Alpine MTF and that next year's main MTF is something like Mont Brouilly, Chiroubles, Loge des Gardes, Mende, Mont Bouquet, Mont Faron or Col d'Èze, as is more befitting of the race in the first place.

 

[Netserk]

im quite surprised it came to this

conditions remotely similar to last year should be perfectly fine - all you need is to clear the roads before the race

 

[carton]

We're going down a rabbit hole and you're leading. Columbia doesn't rank in the top ten of wettest spots. Those honors go to Indian regions, Cameroon (African continent), Maui, HI, Kauai, HI-both US....Here's a real comparison: Washington State's Olympic peninsula averages 200-255 inches of rainfall a year. The Olympic Mountain range isn't tall but it's an effective barrier. Poulsbo, Washington is on the East toe of those hills and get 35 inches of rain. Seattle, a mere 20 miles East averages 35 inches of rain and they are at the same elevation. Humbolt County, CA gets 180 inches a year but we regularly trained West of there and seldom got wet after late Spring. You just don't ride on the wettest time of day in the wettest place. Rider's birthplace doesn't determine their ability unless they are exclusively riding there.

Another reality: if it's cold in either early season or key training segments most pros will do serious intervals indoors. They can gain actual strength rather than burning calories merely to keep from freezing. They will/should ride in inclement weather just to understand the impacts and preparation. This discussion began with speculation on Martinez's tough finish on that stage. He looked worn out from riding in the cold/wet and was likely both underfed and underdressed. I doubt he'll make that mistake again.

I'm not getting the repeated uncontrasted references to the US geography and climate. Do you think Daniel Felipe Martinez is from Columbia, SC?

Anyway, here's my source for Colombia ranking as the wettest country in the World:
World Bank

But yeah, I agree to disagree, there's no need to go any further on this.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

im quite surprised it came to this

conditions remotely similar to last year should be perfectly fine - all you need is to clear the roads before the race

It will still be snowing at the summit throughout the stage, albeit not as intensively as in the morning. I understand why they need to change it, I don't understand why this is the best they can do.

 

[Peyresourde]

I am not too familiar with the local wheather but from what I am seeing it might not even snow in Auron in the afternoon, probably similar temps to last year. So they should be able to finish there no problem.

The organizations give up preventively now without even trying to stick to the plan, which is really unfortunate. In the worst case they could just finish a bit further down on short notice if Auron is snowed in.

 

[Netserk]

I am not too familiar with the local wheather but from what I am seeing it might not even snow in Auron in the afternoon, probably similar temps to last year. So they should be able to finish there no problem.

The organizations give up preventively now without even trying to stick to the plan, which is really unfortunate. In the worst case they could just finish a bit further down on short notice if Auron is snowed in.

my fear is that the damn riders want to ruin the race again and somehow forced their hand

 

[Heston]

This definitely sucks. Now its just a borderline sprinters stage.

 

[aphronesis]

I'm not getting the repeated uncontrasted references to the US geography and climate. Do you think Daniel Felipe Martinez is from Columbia, SC?

Anyway, here's my source for Colombia ranking as the wettest country in the World:
World Bank

But yeah, I agree to disagree, there's no need to go any further on this.

I had no idea that weather in Seattle was like Bogota. Weirdly enough though, people can ride/train in multiple conditions.

 

[Peyresourde]

my fear is that the damn riders want to ruin the race again and somehow forced their hand

Yeah, the the organization fears the riders will boycott and just cancels preemptively. In general, I like having a Plan B, but sometimes you also have to be able to react on short notice instead of canceling early. Riders also have no idea aout the weather.

They might look at a webcam picture in the morning and see one snowflake and conclude that they can't go there in the afternoon, although it will be warmer by then.

Last year they had a harder stage planned, so they could at least take out one climb to appease the riders, now they only have one climb to take out...