Giro d'Italia 2019: Passo Gavia dropped from Stage 16 due to avalanche threat

According to race director Mauro Vegni, the chance of more snow, iced roads, and even avalanches meant that there was too great a risk posed to the safety of the riders.

Previous races have taken place through the Passo Gavia during snowstorms, but new laws in Italy and the UCI's Extreme Weather Protocol mean that going ahead under such circumstances would now be prohibited.

Vegni confirmed the decision ahead of the weekend, when further poor weather is forcast.

Speaking at a press conference, Vegni said: "As all the talk was, ‘Gavia yes or no?’ We’ve decided to make a decision now. With the forecast predicting worsening conditions, we can’t go over the Gavia.

"The weather will get worse and there's a major risk of avalanches and of ice on the roads."

The race organisers, RCS Sport, are attempting to configure a new route for Tuesday's stage, with several smaller ascents replacing the climb to the Passo Gavia.

"To avoid a double climb of the Mortirolo and of course the Gavia, the stage will be about 190km long and there will still be 4,800 metres of climbing,” Vegni told the press.

"The stage will change significantly. After leaving Lovere, we’ll cover the Cevo climb, then return to Edolo, head up to Aprica via the harder back road, then climb pass through Stazzona to reach Mazzo before climbing the Mortirolo and going on to finish as planned in Ponte di Legno.

"The stage won’t be the same, but we’ve tried to make it hard with the inclusion of the Cevo. We’ve never covered it before in the Giro. It’s 10km long and we go up to 1,054 metre with 600 metres or so of altitude at six per cent. It’s there to increase the amount of climbing.

"We couldn’t do double ascent of the Mortirolo because its make the stage far too long.

"There’s a lot of road between the two climbs. We think our choice of climbs is better than doing the Mortirolo twice."