Organisers have made changes to the schedule of today's Gran Fondo, .

The Medio and Piccolo Fondos will take place at the scheduled times on the planned routes.

The Gran Fondo is the final opportunity for riders from around the world to qualify for the Gran Fondo World Series Final next month.

However given the weather conditions, and the need to preserve the safety of competitors, marshals, stewards and other event officials, a the distance will be shortened

The Gran Fondo will now take place over the 72km Medio Fondo course and will start at the same scheduled time of 9.30am.

All qualification criteria for the UCI Gran Fondo World Series is expected to remain as is.

A spokesman for the organisers said: 'Whilst we appreciate some participants may be disappointed by this change, the organisers have a responsibility to ensure the safety of those involved.'

In terms of road closures and other traffic restrictions, Sectors 1, 2, 6 and 7 will close as planned. Sectors 3, 4 and 5 will not close.

Full details of all of the road closures and other traffic restrictions relating to Gran Fondo Isle of Man can be found at here.

Gran Fondo a long-distance cycle ride for recreational cyclists of all abilities.

The term 'Gran Fondo' is Italian and can be roughly translated as 'Big Ride'. Fondo means “ride” and gran means “big”.