A stage wiped from the schedule
The third stage of the Vuelta will have no winner. Organisers called it off on Monday afternoon, a little more than 15 kilometres from the planned finish in Font-Romeu. A hailstorm hit the slopes of the Col de Mont-Louis, a category one climb. The hailstones covered the road. Several riders put a foot down to protect themselves before any official instruction came.
“For the safety of the riders, the third stage has been cancelled because of hail and severe weather conditions,” the organisation said in a statement. “There will be no winner or podium ceremony.”
The general classification therefore stays put. Tadej Pogacar keeps the red jersey he claimed on stage one.
Try it for $0.99.
Pogacar took charge
The Slovenian seized control when things started to unravel. He moved to the front of a peloton already pared back, set a slow tempo, then raised his arm to call for the race to stop. Seconds later, he pointed to the left side of the road. The group followed him towards a building whose doors were opened to let in the soaked riders.
Two men were still out in front at the time of the decision: Mats Wenzel, of Kern Pharma, and Lorenzo Fortunato, of XDS-Astana. It is unclear when or how they were told to stop.
Team cars rolled up to the group. Jackets and blankets were handed around as the uncertainty grew. Less than 10 minutes later, the organisation made its call. No neutralisation, no restart: the stage was simply scrapped, with no way to rebuild the gaps once the riders were scattered across the mountain.
What comes next
The team buses headed back down the mountain to collect the riders and take them to their hotels. The podium was scrapped too, saving Pogacar and the other jersey wearers a trip back up to Font-Romeu.
This stage was meant to provide the first summit finish of this Vuelta and the first proper showdown among the favourites. That wait goes on. The general classification gaps stay as they were at the weekend, and the climbers who were banking on the Pyrenees to shake up the order will have to hold on.
Pro cycling has been making more of these calls over the past two seasons. At the Tour de France, general classification times were already frozen before the Montmartre climbs for safety reasons. The Vuelta has gone one step further by wiping out the stage altogether.
Discover the rest of the latest CYCLING news on our mathodds website and app!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply