Paris-Nice will be cancelled after Saturday's Stage 7 to Colmiane due to the coronavirus pandemic, organiser ASO has confirmed. ASO announced the decision on Friday morning that they would skip the final stage into Nice on Sunday as a precautionary measure after reaching an agreement with the UCI and City of Nice.
'In agreement with the authorities, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the City of Nice, the organisers of Paris-Nice have decided to judge the finish of the race tomorrow, Saturday, at the end of the 7th stage in Valdeblore-La Colmiane,' the statement read.
'The decision, made in the context of the reinforced fight against the propagation of the coronavirus epidemic, cancels the final stage originally scheduled to take place around Nice on Sunday.'
Bahrain-McLaren had already made the decision to withdraw from racing and not start Friday's stage to Apt after riders, staff and sponsors agreed they needed to take precautions against the spread of COVID-19.
Before racing began earlier in the week, six WorldTour team - Team Ineos, CCC, Mitchelton-Scott, Astana, Jumbo-Visma and UAE-Team Emirates - had already made the decision to skip racing until the end of March at the earliest.
On Monday, the French government also put a ban on gatherings of over 1,000 people meaning that spectators were not permitted at the start or finish of any Paris-Nice stage.
The race will now end with Stage 7's summit finish to Valdeblore La Colmiane. Currently, Bora-Hansgrohe's Max Schachmann leads the race by 58 seconds from Soren Kragh Andersen of Team Sunweb.