Tour de France organizers have reduced the length of stage 19 from 130 kilometers to 95 kilometers to avoid herd of cattle infected with disease on the Col des Saisies mountain.
To keep riders safe and avoid the area, they also removed two of the five big categorised climbs that were originally included in that stage.
Due to the changes in the route, the cyclists will now start the race one hour later than planned, starting from the town of Albertville.
Tour de France organisers ASO said in a statement, noting, "The discovery of an outbreak of contagious nodular dermatitis affecting cattle in a herd located specifically in the Col des Saisies has necessitated the culling of the animals," as per Independent.
The statement added, "In light of the distress experienced by the affected farmers and in order to preserve the smooth running of the race, it has been decided to modify the route and avoid the ascent to the Col des Saisies."
Also, the riders will skip the first two uphills climbs, Cote d'Hery-sur-Ugine and Col des Saisies and rejoin the main race path near a place called Beaufort.
It follows yesterday’s stage 18 where cyclists Tadej Pogacar increased the time gap between himself and his competitor Jonas Vingegaard, increasing his overall lead in the race to 4 minutes and 26 seconds.
Now, only three more race stages are left before the Tour de France ends with the final stage scheduled to take place in Paris on Sunday.
