The extreme weather and rider safety protocol has been in place since 2016 in UCI races. Decisions are then made with the elements known before the start of the race.
When the weather conditions deteriorate during the race, and they “do not allow for a safe and fair race“, the UCI asks the president of the panel of commissioners to neutralize the race, the time to make a decision on the resumption, or not, of the race.
This neutralization will be done in motion, behind the marshals' car(s). During this time, the jury president must consult the stakeholders. The UCI asks the CPA to designate three riders before the start to serve as interlocutors. But these riders must not have an interest in decision-making (leader or teammate of a leader of a classification).
If the race resumes after the neutralization, the panel of commissioners will decide whether or not to take into account the gaps existing between the different groups at the time of the neutralization. The case already exists for closed level crossings. A gap of less than 30 seconds is not taken into account when restarting.
In fact, the commissioners already have the possibility of neutralizing the race in the event of an unforeseen incident which risks distorting the race. This year, the 5th stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné ended in convoy after a collective fall. In 2015, in Paris-Roubaix, the first part of the peloton which had crossed a lowering level crossing, was slowed down by the regulators so that it waited for the rest of the peloton which had stopped. In 2018, the 2nd stage of the Tour of Croatia was neutralized for 20 kilometers due to strong wind with the race director's car serving as a screen and cruise control. Not to mention the fictitious starts which take place behind the race director's car.
