Tour de France route changed to avoid diseased cows

To prevent a herd of sickly cattle on the Col des Saisies, the organizers of the Tour de France have condensed stage 19.

Two of the five planned categorised climbs have been cut, making the route from 130km to 95km.

Riders will depart from Albertville one hour later at 13:30 BST and follow the original route near Beaufort by skipping Cote d’Hery-sur-Ugine and Col des Saisies’ first two climbs.

The investigation into a herd’s outbreak of contagious nodular dermatitis affecting cattle in a particular area of the Col des Saisies led to the elimination of the animals, according to tour organizers ASO in a statement on Thursday evening.

It has been decided to change the route and skip the ascent to the Col des Saisies in light of the suffering experienced by the affected farmers in order to keep the race running smoothly.

The Tour de France, which ends in Paris on Sunday, has three stages left.