Extreme weather in France, Spain and Portugal: Vuelta a Murcia finale reduced to a 10-kilometre loop

Earlier this week, the opening stage of the women’s Tour of Valencia nearly descended into chaos. Conditions were extremely windy and the riders held talks with the organisers about whether racing was possible at all. In the end they did ride, and Demi Vollering won the stage. Stage 2 went ahead without issue, but stage 3 is where things went wrong.

Once again, the weather intervened. This time the organisers judged it unsafe to continue: gusts reportedly reaching 90 km/h made riding “impossible”, and rather than shortening the stage, the decision was taken to cancel it outright. Safety, the organisers stressed, comes first.

Elsewhere, there was also concern that racing would be affected — not by wind, but by freezing conditions in France. Saturday normally features stage 2 of the Tour de la Provence, the queen stage, finishing at over 1,500 metres above sea level. And that altitude immediately created problems.

Images emerged of the final kilometre, and honestly: it looked more like a bobsleigh track than a road suitable for a bike race. Skeleton and bobsleigh star Kimberley Bos might have enjoyed it more than the climbers in Provence. Thankfully, later in the day temperatures rose, the road was cleared of ice and barriers could be installed — meaning the peloton could still brace itself for an (ice-cold) queen stage.

And there is uncertainty in Portugal too. The Figueira Champions Classic has been dealing with strong gusts, especially along the coast, where waves have been crashing high onto the beaches. The organisers of the Portuguese one-day race had not issued a statement at the time of writing — but don’t be surprised if that changes quickly.

After the Vuelta a Murcia already shortened stage 1, stage 2 also fell victim to the conditions. The wind forced the organisers to reduce the route again, but it still was not enough. Following a crash early on, it became clear something else had to be done. Riders climbed into team cars before returning to race a 10-kilometre city circuit in Santomera. There were no time gaps on the day — but there was still a stage winner.

It was a surreal sight, but the riders did line up and sprint for it. The circuit was completed only once, meaning a winner was decided after barely 15 minutes of racing. Only a small number of riders seemed willing to go all-in, and it was Emīls Liepiņš (Q36.5) who was fastest. Julius Johansen (UAE Team Emirates–XRG), riding in the mountains jersey, finished second.