Stage 3 of the Vuelta a España 2026 was abandoned inside the final few kilometers because of a dangerous hailstorm Monday.
Riders, including red jersey-wearing race leader Tadej Pogačar, pulled off the road to take shelter in a hotel amid the severe weather conditions.
Mats Wenzel and Lorenzo Fortunato had been leading ahead of the peloton when the decision was made.
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Riders were reaching the top of the penultimate climb on the way to the Font Romeu finish line at the end of the 174-kilometer course from Gruissan.
Conditions had been fine at the start, with six riders attacking early on, including Soudal Quick-Step's Ethan Hayter, who was pipped by Pogačar in the Stage 1 individual time trial.
The breakaway extended its advantage to more than two and a half minutes, but the peloton gradually reeled the escapees back in, with Pogačar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad working hard to keep the gap under control.
Crosswinds split the peloton on the exposed roads, with General Classification contender Felix Gall suffering, but the Austrian managed to recover.
With around 60 kilometers remaining, riders could see the dark clouds and rainy conditions awaiting them ahead, and that ultimately forced the stage to be abandoned.
Rain, and then hail, lashed down with around 25 kilometers remaining, as UAE picked up the pace to close down three riders still out in front.
Wenzel soon was the last man standing from the breakaway, and he kept plugging away, despite the inclement weather, and he was joined by Fortunato.
Some riders in the bunch pulled to the side of the road to take shelter from the hailstones, while Pogačar called for the peloton to turn off route and head into a nearby hotel.
Race organizers then confirmed the stage had been abandoned because of the weather.
The action will continue Tuesday with Stage 4, a 104.8-kilometer mountain journey through Andorra la Vella.
Stage 4 starts and finishes in Andorra, running in the mountains with several categorized climbs, which should provide a solid indication of which riders expect to finish high in the GC standings.
Slovenian cycling superstar Pogačar, a five-time Tour de France winner, is the overwhelming favorite to win the race and complete the set of Grand Tour victories, having won the Giro d'Italia in 2024.
Only a major upset will prevent him finishing the race in Granada on Sept. 13 as the ninth rider to complete the feat and only the fourth to do a Tour-Vuelta double in the same season.
Vuelta a España 2026 Stage 3 Results – Top 25
Stage 3 of the Vuelta a España 2026 was canceled due to inclement weather, including heavy rain and hail.
Vuelta a España 2026 Overall Standings – Top 25 After Stage 3
- Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 4:58:40 (B4)
- Wout van Aert (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 4:58:49 (B4)
- Matthew Brennan (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 4:58:50 (B10)
- Léo Bisiaux (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 4:58:52
- Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 4:58:54
- Stefan Küng (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – 4:58:58
- Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 4:58:58
- Primož Roglič (Lidl - Trek) – 4:59:00
- Mads Pedersen (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 4:59:06
- Jordan Labrosse (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 4:59:07
- Orluis Aular (Movistar Team) – 4:59:07
- Christophe Laporte (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 4:59:08
- Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) – 4:59:09 (B6)
- Axel Laurance (Netcompany INEOS) – 4:59:10
- Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin - Premier Tech) – 4:59:11
- Pablo Torres (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 4:59:11
- Carlos Rodríguez (Netcompany INEOS) – 4:59:11
- Fabio Van den Bossche (Soudal Quick-Step) – 4:59:12
- Tobias Halland Johannessen (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – 4:59:12
- Marco Brenner (Uno-X Mobility) – 4:59:12
- Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl - Trek) – 4:59:13
- Bastien Tronchon (Groupama - FDJ United) – 4:59:15
- Andreas Kron (Uno-X Mobility) – 4:59:15
- Enric Mas (Movistar Team) – 4:59:17
- Richard Carapaz (EF Education - EasyPost) – 4:59:17
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