“In the end, the organisation did super well” - Tadej Pogacar reflects on Vuelta chaos after leading peloton to emergency shelter
CyclingTuesday, 25 August 2026 at 16:45
Tadej Pogacar has praised how Vuelta a Espana organisers ultimately handled the chaos of stage 3, 24 hours after the race leader himself had effectively taken charge as hail brought the peloton to a standstill on the road to Font Romeu.
With riders already struggling in the conditions on the Col de Mont-Louis, television pictures showed Pogacar moving to the front of the bunch before pointing towards a nearby hotel. Much of the peloton then followed him off the road and into emergency shelter as the hail continued to hammer down.
The official cancellation came afterwards, with the stage eventually wiped completely from the race and no winner, times or classification points retained. Speaking to TNT Sports ahead of Tuesday's stage in Andorra, Pogacar was nevertheless positive about the organisers' response once the decision had been made.
“Yeah, no, it was just a crazy experience, but I think, in the end, the organisation did super well,” said the Slovenian. “Chapeau to them for cancelling the stage. I know it's not easy to do it.”
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Pogacar had led peloton towards shelter
Monday's 174-kilometre stage towards Font Romeu had been expected to provide the first significant mountain test of the 2026 Vuelta. Instead, rapidly deteriorating weather brought the race to a halt around 15 kilometres from the planned finish.
Heavy rain turned into severe hail as the race climbed towards Font Romeu, with riders visibly struggling to protect themselves before Pogacar came through to the front. The red jersey was then seen gesturing towards the hotel as the bunch followed him off the road in search of shelter.
The official cancellation followed after the riders had already sought cover. Pogacar's verdict the following morning was nevertheless firmly supportive of the organisers, with the Slovenian stressing that calling off a Grand Tour stage was not an easy decision.
“I think the hotel will be quite famous now”
The hotel Pogacar had pointed towards quickly became an unlikely refuge for much of the Vuelta peloton. Riders who had been battling through the hail suddenly found themselves sheltering inside for around 90 minutes, with staff helping them warm up and recover while the situation outside was resolved.
Pogacar was particularly grateful for how they were received. “And also chapeau to the hotel that hosted us there for an hour and a half or something,” he continued. “They brought us towels and we could shower, and it was really good from them.”
By the following morning, the extraordinary sight of a Grand Tour peloton seeking emergency shelter there had clearly stuck with Pogacar. He had even gone online to look at the hotel's Google reviews before heading to the start of stage 4. “I was reading the reviews this morning on Google, and I think the hotel will be quite famous now,” he joked.
The Vuelta resumes in Andorra with Pogacar still leading the general classification after Monday's stage was removed entirely from the results. Stage 4 now becomes the first mountain examination of the race, with more than 3,000 metres of climbing packed into just 104.8 kilometres around Andorra la Vella.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- 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
- Maybe she is expected to do an OnlyVuelta edition?abstractengineer25-08-2026
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