More dark clouds and storms Monday at Paris-Nice, with Stage 1 reduced by one-half because of horrendous weather.

The stage was supposed to be 184.5 km from Amilly to Nevers, but the start was moved to what had been set as the feed zone — La Chapelotte, which is 93.5 kms to the finish. The temps were in the low to mid 40s with rain and winds of 21 mph.

Big Gert Steegmans of U.S. sponsored QuickStep won the stage by two seconds ahead of Bouygues Telecom’s Jerome Pineau and Credit Agricole’s Thor Hushovd, the race leader.

“It was quite odd because we were ready to race and then we had to get back in the bus,” the Associated Press quoted Steegmans as saying. ”It was quite cold, but in Belgium it’s often cold and rainy and we’re used to that.”

As far as the dark cloud of ASO vs. UCI … a 10 Speed reader sent a link to a Reuters story  that reported the International Riders’ Association has asked for a meeting with the UCI chief Pat McQuaid to clarify the UCI’s position on disciplinary actions for taking part in Paris-Nice, which is being conducted by ASO under authority of the French Cycling Federation and outside of the auspices of the UCI.

I’m not sure what part of “you face a sixth-month suspension if you race in Paris-Nice” the riders didn’t understand. In the weeks leading up to the race, UCI clearly spelled out the ramifications of participation. If anything, the meeting should have been called before hand. Seems a little late to do so now.

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