Apocalyptic conditions led to cancellation of third stage of Vuelta a España

A day later, it would be a different story. The start was set to be flat in Gruissan, Aude, but after beginning at sea level, the riders would climb very gradually to a finish in Font Romeu, at an altitude of nearly 2,000 meters. The road to that finish would never get very steep, but there was certainly no shortage of climbing kilometers.

Whether it would be tough enough for the first showdown among the general classification contenders remained to be seen. Attackers also had a chance on this finish, but there wasn’t much of a battle for the early breakaway. Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility), Olivier Le Gac (Picnic PostNL), Asbjørn Hellemose (Jayco AlUla), Mats Wenzel (Equipo Kern Pharma), and Dutch rider Timo Roosen (Picnic PostNL) were joined by Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step).

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A quiet start, but a risk of a breakaway in Spain

The Brit had finished second in the opening time trial and, with bonus seconds, thought he could take the red jersey from the early breakaway on Sunday. But he lost too much time at the finish to pull off that feat. This time, however, the points jersey wearer was right there again. Milan Vader (Pinarello - Q36.5) also wanted to move up, but he was too late.

And so, six riders broke away from the peloton. For quite some time, there was little action or excitement, but the wind was blowing hard. There had been fears of echelons all day, and with 90 kilometers to go, UAE Team Emirates-XRG initiated the attack. It caused significant splits: Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM), among others, were left behind.

But the scare was short-lived. When the peloton rode into the lee of a village, calm returned, allowing the second group to catch up. The breakaway group, which saw its lead shrink from 2 minutes to 15 seconds, quickly pulled away again from the stalled peloton. Meanwhile, we heard that Alex Kirsch (Cofidis) had withdrawn, marking the second rider to drop out of the Vuelta.

Thunderstorms and massive hailstones at the finish line

Meanwhile, severe weather was reported near the finish line. Heavy rain was expected, and flashes of lightning were also seen. The riders first encountered rain 40 kilometers from the finish. At that point, it was just a few drops on the camera lens, but there were fears of a downpour. Those fears later became a reality.

As the race reached the Col de Mont-Louis—a 19-kilometer climb—it began to pour. The breakaway group splintered there, and Wenzel proved to be the best climber at the front. But UAE Team Emirates-XRG clearly had a plan and rode hard at the front. Wenzel still held a 40-second lead with 25 kilometers to go, but it seemed that wouldn’t last long.

Although the broadcast feed cut out due to the storm, Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) broke away from the peloton. The Italian rider from XDS Astana closed in on the leader but lost the mountain sprint to Wenzel, who thus took the mountains jersey from Koen Bouwman (Jayco AlUla). Meanwhile, some riders decided to take shelter from the storm. Tadej Pogacar gestured: “Take cover!” Hailstones were pouring from the sky, and the peloton decided to seek shelter.

The roads were completely covered in hail, and water poured down the asphalt like a river. The riders rushed en masse into nearby houses, while the organizers announced that the race had been suspended.