Hail cancels third Vuelta a España stage in the Pyrenees
The third stage of the Vuelta a España cycling race was cancelled due to heavy hail in the French Pyrenees. According to The Guardian, the organizers stopped the race 15 km before the finish, explaining that the decision was necessary to ensure the athletes' safety.
Bad weather on the climb
The 174 km stage ran between Gruissan and Font-Romeu. As the peloton approached the summit of the Col de Mont-Louis pass, the sky darkened and large hail began falling on the road and the cyclists.
At the time the race was stopped, Mats Wenzel of Kern Pharma and Lorenzo Fortunato of XDS Astana were 25 seconds ahead of the peloton. Overall leader Tadej Pogačar, who was riding in the group, was seen gesturing for the peloton to leave the course. The cyclists got off their bikes and entered a hotel along the route to shelter from the bad weather.
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There will be no stage winner
The organizers said that due to the hail and difficult weather conditions, no winner of the third stage would be determined and there would be no awards ceremony. The road at the finish was covered by a thick layer of hail.
After the stage was cancelled, Pogačar of UAE Emirates-XRG retained the overall lead. He is nine seconds ahead of Belgium's Wout van Aert of Visma-Lease a Bike, while Britain's Matt Brennan is 10 seconds behind the leader. The fourth stage on Tuesday will start and finish in Andorra la Vella and include three first-category climbs.
