Giro d’Italia 2023: Start of Stage 13 start delayed and route changed due to bad weather as riders express concerns

Bad weather at Borgofranco d’Ivrea has led to the start of Stage 13 of the Giro d’Italia being delayed and the route changed. The opening Grand Tour of the season has been plagued by poor weather, as has large parts of Italy which led to the cancellation of the Formula 1 Grand Prix on Sunday. Ad Stage 13 is the first serious mountain test of the race, with a summit finish at Crans Montana.

Giro d'ItaliaPoints jersey contender Pedersen withdraws from Giro after falling ill overnightAN HOUR AGO Race organisers had already made a change to the route, taking out one of the climbs due to the threat of snow. Rain was forecast, and the riders woke up to torrential downpours — which led to a delayed start. Astana posted a video of the torrential conditions heading to the start of the stage.

Meetings took place where a range of options were put forward. Following the discussions, Giro organisers elected to trim the route — albeit they will take in the two big climbs of the Croix de Coeur and summit finish at Crans Montana. Riders will roll out from Borgofranco d’Ivrea as normal and ride 200 metres before returning to their teams buses.

The teams will change into clothes before travelling to Le Chable where the race will get underway. It will be a shortened stage, but likely an explosive one as they will ascend Croix de Coeur and Crans Montana. There were concerns, as reported by Eurosport’s Orla Chennaoui, about the climb and descent of the Croix de Coeur but the weather forecast suggests it is dry and sunny there.