Due to heavy snow in the region, the organizers have been forced to cancel stage 5 of Tirreno-Adriatico completely. Bad roads and the hilly terrain made it impossible to plot an alternative route.

It's the second cancellation of a major stage in a WorldTour race this week after ASO had to end stage 3 of Paris-Nice prematurely.

The organizers have issued the following statement:

"Given the weather forecast for stage 5, Foligno-Monte San Vicino: rain - extreme temperatures - risk of snowfall above 800 metres, the parties hereto agree to cancel stage 5, as scheduled, so as to prevent any possible risk for general safety and for the health of riders."

“Considering the forecasts, we’ve agreed that there are not the conditions to race the stage tomorrow,” race director Mauro Vegni told at a press conference . “The weather is expected to worsen. Even today, my people were on all the stage to check things. Unfortunately, conditions aren’t suitable to hold the race, especially as things will get worse. We’ve decided not to risk the riders health.

"The alternative stage route that we’d presented is not possible because snow is expect over 700 metres, there a risk of snowing on all the climbs of the stage and so we couldn’t risk stopping the riders mid-stage."