Belgium's Philippe Gilbert dashed into the lead in the curtailed stage, which was set to take place 92 miles, or 147.5 kilometers, from Chongli to Yanquing on the outskirts of Beijing.

But after days of being exposed to the thick smog in the Chinese capital, the organizers of the event ended the stage at the 111-kilometer mark, 36 kilometers early "due to weather in Yanqing."

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"Air quality in Beijing has been very poor in the past few days and this has spread to surrounding areas including Yanqing," the race's official Twitter feed read.

The hilly stage on Saturday stretched through a region which is part of Beijing's efforts to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The decision to cut the race may concern football fans as Argentina and Brazil are set to go head-to-head in a "Super Clasico" friendly match to be held on Saturday in Beijing.

The Belgian cyclist said the cyclists asked the Union Cyclieste Internationale, the cycling body overseeing the event, to reduce the length of the race.

"We spoke together with the organization, UCI, and everyone agreed that we should cancel the last 30K," he said. "I think it was a good decision. This means a lot, because a lot of times in the past ... they didn't listen to us. And today, we did a big step in our sport, I think."

The first stage of the race took place under generally blue skies and clear visibility in the hills north of the capital on Friday.

On the second course, however, the riders made their way closer to Beijing, which has been veiled by pollution over 20 times the recommended maximum levels.

TagsTour of Beijing, Pollution, Chongli, Yanquing, Philippe Gilbert, Super Clasico, Argentina