Biblical conditions forced stage three of the Vuelta a Espana to be abandoned with 15km to go as a fierce hailstorm made racing nigh on impossible.
The 174km stage had begun amid warm and sunny conditions in Gruissan-Aude but as the riders headed into the Pyrenees for the final third of the stage, with a summit finish atop the category-two climb of Font Romeu, the heavens opened. Huge hailstorms and ice blanketed the roads and the threat of lightning made for added peril.
