Vuelta 2026: Stage 3 cancelled due to severe weather

fotobureau Cor VosOn the first of the two closing climbs, Stage 3 really starts to heat up as the heavens open. Just below the summit of the first climb, the rain turns into a hailstorm, with large chunks of ice coming down. Tadej Pogacar calls on the peloton to stop, and the race organisers later take the decision to neutralise the race. (Slideshow route/profile)

Stage 3 Results – 2026 Vuelta

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GC after stage 3

1. Tadej Pogacar (slo)
2. Wout van Aert (bel) + 0:09
3. Matthew Brennan (gbr) + 0:10
4. Léo Bisiaux (fra) + 0:12
5. Finn Fisher-Black (nzl) + 0:14
6. Stefan Küng (swi) + 0:18
7. Jay Vine (aus) s.t.
8. Mads Pedersen (den) + 0:20
9. Primoz Roglic (slo) + 0:26
10. Jordan Labrosse (fra) + 0:27

17. Carlos Rodriguez (spa) + 0:31
20. Tobias Halland Johannessen (nor) + 0:32
21. Mattias Skjelmose (den) + 0:33
24. Enric Mas (spa) + 0:37
25. Richard Caralaz (ecu) s.t.
26. João Almeida (por) + 0:40
27. Harold Tejada (por) s.t.
32. Santiago Buitrago (col) + 0:42
38. Sepp Kuss (usa) + 0:49
43. Oscar Onley (gbr) + 0:54
46. Jørgen Nordhagen (nor) + 0:57
63. Felix Gall (aut) + 1:08
74. Cian Uijtdebroeks (bel) + 1:16

Race report
Early on, Olivier Le Gac, Ethan Hayter, Magnus Cort, Asbjørn Hellemose, Timo Roosen and Mats Wenzel establish a six-man breakaway. Their lead peaks at nearly 3 minutes.

For dozens of kilometres, the gap hovers around 2 minutes, but when echeons come into play over the final 90 kilometres, it quickly drops below 1 minute. The peloton splits, with João Almeida, Cian Uijtdebroeks and Matthew Brennan among the riders caught out in the wrong echelon. They are fortunate, however, as things soon settle down again. That also works in the breakaway’s favour, as their lead grows back to 2 minutes.

As the riders tackle the Col de Mont-Louis, the six-man breakaway still has a lead of 1 and a half minutes, but that gradually comes down. As the rain starts to pour, Wenzel is the only rider left out front. With the gap down to just over half a minute, Lorenzo Fortunato launches the chase and he catches the Luxembourger.

The rain turns into a hailstorm, with large chunks of ice coming down. Tadej Pogacar gestures to the rest of the peloton to seek shelter.

After a few minutes, the roads are covered in hail and the organisers decide that it is too dangerous to finish the stage. A descent and a final climb were still to come.

Another interesting read: route 3rd stage 2026 Vuelta a España.