Hail forces abandonment of Vuelta a España stage in Pyrenees

The third stage of the Vuelta a España was abandoned on Monday in the French Pyrenees after giant hail forced organisers to halt the race. The disruption occurred late in the 174km stage from Gruissan to Font-Romeu.

Riders began taking shelter in shops and restaurants by the roadside with about 15km to go as the peloton scaled the Col de Mont-Louis and huge hailstones started to fall, leaving ice on the road amid the threat of lightning. Organisers neutralised the race before eventually suspending the stage.

“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.”

Riders started communicating and asking each other to slow down when the hail began, and several moved into nearby businesses to take cover. At the time the race was called off Mats Wenzel of Equipo Kern Pharm and Lorenzo Fortunato of XDS Astana were in a breakaway. Heavy rain had 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.