Race organisers have shortened the queen stage of the 2019 Tour of Turkey by 5.5km due to heavy snow falling on the summit finish.
Stage five was set to conclude with riders scaling the 16km Kartepe, but will now only ride the first 10.5km.
The steepest parts of the climb, which top out at a gradient of 12 per cent, will not be affected.
Christmas in April?
— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) April 20, 2019
No, just the original finish of today's #TUR2019 stage on the Kartepe climb before it was shortened. pic.twitter.com/fSAk2h2Eho
Ojo a la subida final (15km) etapa Vuelta Turquía. Esperemos q se pueda mantener recorrido y q haya visibilidad para emisión TV directo @Eurosport_ES 1 desde las 2pm. Gracias a auxiliares del @MuriasTeam por el vídeo. Grabado camino del hotel que afortunadamente está junto meta pic.twitter.com/NIez0seABR
— Antonio Alix (@antoalix) April 20, 2019
The Tour of Turkey have said that Deceuninck - Quick-Step's team director Brian Holm and rider Eros Capecchi represented the teams and riders currently competing in the race as the decision was made to shorten the penultimate stage under the UCI's Extreme Weather Protocol.
Broadcaster Ned Boulting, who is in Turkey working on the race, tweeted a picture from the Kartepe, which literally means "snowy hill" in Turkish, showing the terrible weather conditions. He's said that icy snow is still falling hard and that fog has descended.
Deceuninck - Quick-Step first tweeted a video showing the view from the original finish line, and then updating their followers with the scenes at the new finish line, which was still being plummeted by snow.
Winter is coming.
— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) April 20, 2019
Pam-pam-param-pam-pam-param-pam-pam-param-pam-pam.#TUR2019 pic.twitter.com/jCmriHgu6I
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