The third stage of the Vuelta a España ended without a winner after being halted because of hail on Monday.
Riders started taking shelter in shops and restaurants by the road with about 15km to go on the difficult 174km route from Gruissan to Font-Romeu that was due to finish in the French Pyrenees. Organisers neutralised the race as the peloton scaled the Col de Mont-Louis and huge hailstones began pelting the riders, with ice on the road and the threat of lightning. They eventually suspended the stage and declared no winner.
“For the security of the riders, stage three has been cancelled due to hail and severe weather,” race organisers said. “There will be no winner and no podium ceremony.”
The riders started communicating and asking each other to slow down when the hail began. Mats Wenzel of Equipo Kern Pharm and Lorenzo Fortunato of XDS Astana were in a breakaway at the time the race was called off.
Heavy rain hit the peloton with about 25km to go. Tadej Pogacar, the Tour de France winner seeking a personal sweep of the Grand Tour races, remains the race leader after three stages. The Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates leads the general classification by nine seconds from Wout van Aert, with Matthew Brennan another second behind in third.
Tuesday’s 105km stage will go through the Andorran mountains. The short but tough route will feature three climbs where the top contenders are expected to separate themselves from the pack.
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