Chaos in the Pyrenees! Natural disaster forces cancellation of third stage in prestigious Grand Tour

The weather delivered a devastating blow to the plans of organizers and participants in the Spanish multi-stage race.

Details: The third stage of the prestigious Vuelta a España, stretching between Gruissan and Font-Romeu, was officially called off due to extreme weather conditions. On the final section near the Col de Mont-Louis climb, the peloton was battered by a violent thunderstorm, with large hailstones and torrential rain making any further racing life-threatening.

Riders were forced to stop abruptly and seek cover. General classification leader Tadej Pogačar and former world champion Mads Pedersen were among the first to urge their fellow competitors to halt the race and take shelter from the onslaught, without waiting for official instructions from the race directors. Most of the peloton managed to find refuge in a nearby building.

Although organizers initially hoped to resume the race once conditions improved at the summit, the flooded and hail-strewn road surface compelled the race jury to officially announce the complete cancellation of the stage in accordance with UCI safety protocol. No stage winner was declared.

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