"As long as Pogi didn’t say anything, we kept going" - The Vuelta a España weather catastrophe from within the peloton
CyclingTuesday, 25 August 2026 at 14:00
Stage 3 of the Vuelta a España didn't come to its planned end due to a hail storm that interrupted the race ahead of its final climb. Tadej Pogacar called for the peloton to move out of the road and a hotel was the location where many gathered to protect themselves. From within the peloton, Bastien Tronchon detailed his experience.
From 40 degrees to straight hail
Despite this being one of the most infamous finales in recent memory, as the riders did not make it to the finish line, it was very difficult to get the insight from the peloton in the hours that followed as no-one anticipated a premature cancellation of the stage 15 kilometers away from the finish.
"It was a bit apocalyptic. Everyone jumped into their cars, into the fans' cars. We knew there was going to be a storm, but not to this extent," Groupama - FDJ's Bastien Tronchon said in words to Eurosport France.
The riders were warned about the potential downpour that could take place in the Pyrenees. What they wouldn't expect was an extreme weather event, the first that led to a stage cancellation at the Vuelta in decades. Tronchon, like most riders, was under the hail storm that fell on the riders.
"It hurt. It wasn't that cold, but when you go from 40 degrees to 12-13 degrees with hail, it's not pleasant; it was really hitting you hard."
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The peloton waited for Pogacar's reaction
The Frenchman was no longer in the peloton, but found himself riding into the same hotel as the riders that were in front of him. He provides some interesting insight on how riders were waiting for a reaction from Tadej Pogacar to stop the race.
“I had dropped out of the lead group. But up front, as long as Pogi didn’t say anything, we kept going, and once he decided to stop, everyone else had to stop too, since he’s kind of the leader.”
Then, in the hotel that hosted the riders during the storm, he found himself in a position of better comfort. All he had to do then was wait whilst the team vehicles made their ways to the area.
“Our team cars quickly found us. We jumped in to change while we waited for the race officials’ decision. Then they decided to cancel the race, and the team buses met us at the point where the leading riders had stopped.”
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Personally? We're over seeing this guy at the top EVERY freaking time {Lance Armstrong double?}. BORING!! PLEASE 🙏, give us some NEW hopefuls to get behind!!!f9ers5525-08-2026
- Pretty amazing since the race was in Monaco.zaz25-08-2026
- Wonder who is on the list of the best riders ever that are not proven dopers...Staal25-08-2026
- People win GTs by 2 mins which is considered a comfortable margin, Pogi is taking 3 mins in a stage, same like the TDF, GC over in a single stage. Now in training mode for the WCabstractengineer25-08-2026
- You can think whatever you want to and only Pogi knows what is important to him. But until someone else wins 7 or more Tours Armstrong still holds the title for the most. It doesn't matter if he was stripped of them for doping he still won them and against other people that were doping. And the UCI knows it that is why they didn't just give the titles to the second place finisher.Hc222825-08-2026
- And your tomorrow has become today, and yes, at this moment Pogi is 3:12 up on everyone.PogiSloFans25-08-2026
- Now you’re Slovenian????Jumpyjohn25-08-2026
- Are you guys watching Pogi's masterclass? If not... why not? I want an explanation.PogiSloFans25-08-2026
- i think this idea came from the world cup where they invited some influencers as well. But beside the stars of the world cup and the commentary team of stars, it is unlikely any influencers would greater sway. The Vuelta is not apologizing nor removing her, in fact they are still keeping her in the race, since whoever the high placed idiot/admirer who hired her does not want to lose faceabstractengineer25-08-2026
- Contador is by no means a perfect voice on the matter, but i agree with him. Tadej loves to race and is always chasing new challenges. he's never been just focused on the tour record. he's also told contador personally that he grew up wanting to race like he did, hard to believe he'd value armstrongs wins after seeing everything from 09 to 12 as a kid.typurc25-08-2026
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