Until yesterday afternoon, the Igesa Village Club was just another Pyrenean hotel, welcoming a variety of guests for winter and summer sports.
But stage three of the Vuelta a España changed all that, bringing both winter and summer – and a whole load of bedraggled bike riders – through the doors of this ornate building. These were not holidaymakers, far from it. Instead they were sheltering from a hailstorm of biblical proportions that ultimately led to the abandonment of the stage.
But the incident thrust the hotel, situated around 15 kilometres from the intended stage finish near Font Romeu, into the global sporting spotlight. It’s newfound fame has been accompanied by a host of affectionate and spoof reviews, many praising it for sheltering the riders or simply joking about their presence.
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One reviewer suggested it ought to earn the combativity prize, saying, “Vuelta combativity award for this hotel! It must not be easy to accommodate 183 cyclists+ staff without prior notice.”
Another simply listed the benefits of staying here as: “Warm hospitality – Cycling Friendly – Free towels on arrival,” alluding to the towels offered to the riders to dry the freezing hail.
More than one review referenced the Vuelta’s much-maligned social media influencer Erola Jons, who bemused a raft of riders with her questions, and called Tadej Pogačar as ‘Pogacita’: “Met a guy named “Pogichitar” he started hyperventilating for some reason,” wrote the reviewer, while another wrote: “Undeniably good experience. However, the weather was not too friendly and some amateur cyclists were in the first floor. I even got to meet a kid who was in red, I think his name was pogachita. Anyways, excellent service.”
Other ‘reviewers’ joked about the presence of so many cyclists during their stays, with one writing: “Great hospitality and great service, but it has a serious problem with cyclists,” and another saying, “Bad weather but great service! The janitors cleaned a bunch of wet men in leotards. The view was nice.”
For many of the riders, yesterday’s stage ended at the hotel with hail coating the roads outside. There was no result recorded for the stage, which took riders 174km from Gruissan to Font Romeu, with the general classification remaining as it was after stage two, with Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) still wearing the leader’s red jersey.
Today’s stage is held within the Pyrenean country of Andorra, with a 104km mountainous outing based on Andorra La Vella.
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