Paris-Nice stage 4 winner João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) has rejected a widespread idea amongst his fellow riders that after bad weather had caused the competition to be neutralised during a short period before the finish,

Stage four of Paris-Nice was briefly neutralised on Wednesday due to poor weather conditions, before getting underway again, with 28km to go. In heavy rain, the breakaway and then the peloton were stopped with around 45km to go on the way to La Loge des Gardes,

Joao Almeida of UAE Emirates-XRG won the fourth stage of Paris-Nice. Along the way, the riders were hit by hail and freezing rain, after which the Extreme Weather Protocol was activated to neutralize the race.

Eventually, the break was allowed to restart with 28.8km remaining on stage 4, with the three riders who were on the counter-attack, Josh Tarling, Tobias Foss (ineos Grenadiers), and Dion Smith (Intermarché-Wanty) allowed to start 1:35 later.

After the team time trial, the GC riders on day four of Paris-Nice will have their first chance to make their presence felt. The 163.4-kilometer stage, starting in Vichy, includes six categorized climbs.