Riders forced to abandon the road
The third stage of the Vuelta a España was cancelled on Monday after a violent hailstorm turned the road towards Font-Romeu into a sheet of water and ice.
The 174-kilometre route had started in sunshine at Gruissan-Aude, but conditions changed dramatically on the Col de Mont-Louis. With only 15 to 16 kilometres remaining, hailstones struck the riders and torrents of rain made the surface too dangerous to race on.
Race leader Tadej Pogačar raised his hand and signalled for the peloton to stop. The Slovenian then helped direct the group away from the course and towards a nearby hotel, where soaked and shivering riders crowded inside for shelter.
According to The Times, the race was paused before being abandoned around ten minutes later. Bikes were left outside as riders attempted to warm up.
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No winner and no times recorded
Mats Wenzel and Lorenzo Fortunato were at the front when the storm arrived, with the main group roughly 40 seconds behind. UAE Team Emirates had controlled much of the day and appeared to be preparing Pogačar for an attack on the final climb.
That contest never came. As El País described, the hail covered the road in a white layer and made the asphalt effectively impassable. The organisers cancelled the stage without declaring a winner or recording any finishing times.
The commissaires also removed the points and bonuses earned at the intermediate sprint and mountain classification. The overall standings were unchanged, with Pogačar still wearing red. Wout van Aert remains nine seconds behind and British rider Matthew Brennan is third at ten seconds.
Pogačar must wait for his next attack
The cancellation denied Pogačar an early opportunity to extend his lead. He had won the opening time trial in Monaco by nine hundredths of a second, while Brennan took stage two.
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The race now moves to Andorra for a short but demanding fourth stage featuring three first-category climbs. After a day decided by the weather rather than the legs, the favourites will finally have another chance to test one another in the mountains.
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