Last night social media was flooded with thanks. All of them heartfelt. They came from the Vuelta riders who yesterday, battered by hail and a violent thunderstorm, found shelter in a hotel, the IGESA Village Club, located right at the top of the climb when the race was stopped.

Imagine the staff who found themselves receiving within a few minutes at least 150 soaking wet riders and many other race personnel, especially photographers and motorcyclists. It could have been chaos, but in five minutes they organized themselves and suddenly towels appeared for everyone and they started pouring liters of tea and coffee to warm everyone up.

A most respectable welcome that allowed the riders - and as mentioned, not just them - to take shelter, warm up and recover their strength while waiting for the buses from all the teams to maneuver and from Fort Romeu, where they were positioned, to cover the 15 kilometers distance to reach the hotel. And it wasn't an easy operation, because moving 23 buses parked in a small village together requires more than a few minutes...

And so the assistance to the riders at the hotel became more and more precious minute by minute, and in the evening came the thank you posts and highly positive reviews. A simple way to thank those who did not hesitate to put themselves freely at the service of those strange half-frozen men in jerseys, shorts and helmets who suddenly appeared after parking their bicycles next to the hotel entrance...

In the gallery you can see some photos taken inside the IGESA Village Club and below a rather explicit video of what prompted the riders to stop...

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