The Tirreno-Adriatico peloton finished the 239-kilometre third stage to Colfiorito cold, soaked to the skin and fatigued. A few seemed to have sadistic smiles but most had a thousand-yard stare after a tough day in the saddle.
Asked to describe what the conditions were like, race leader Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) said, "Give it a try, and you'll find out."
The Italian was visibly shivering as he spoke and completed the podium protocol as race leader. Other riders appeared to suffer much more, including stage winner Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) - his victory was hugely satisfying but did not warm his skinny pro rider's body.
The stage started on the Mediterranean coast in Follonica under grey skies but temperatures of 13°C. The weather radar showed that rain was approaching fast, and it soon caught the riders as they rode east across southern Tuscany and into Umbria.
They spent most of the day in the rain, sticking largely together as they tried to stay warm and safe.
The final average speed for the stage was just 36.919 kph. The riders had breakfast at 6:30 am and started the stage at 9:30 am. With a ride to sign on and a 6.9km neutralised sector, they spent close to seven hours in the saddle - as much time as it would take to complete Milan-San Remo, the longest Classics or a tough Grand Tour mountain stage.
Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) kept the best young rider's white jersey and wore a COVID-19-style face mask to try and stay warm.
"I'm still freezing so I'm fully wrapped up," the Spaniard said. "I just want to have a hot shower."
Dries De Bondt (Decathlon-AG2R) even went on the attack with Andrea Pietrobon (Polti VisitMalta) to try to warm up.
Jonathan Milan and his Lidl-Trek teammate Simone Consonni finished in the final positions of the stage, 17:50 down on Vendrame.
On Tuesday, they celebrated a sprint victory in Follonica but in Colfiorito they were hurt and licking their wounds. Milan, Consonni and three other riders crashed on a corner with 23km to go. The wreck ended any hopes of Milan surviving the gradual climb to the finish and left him with a hole in his shorts and plenty of road rash.
He was able to climb on the podium to pull on the purple-coloured points jersey but soon rode to the Lidl-Trek team bus for treatment and a warm shower.
All the riders dashed to their nearby team buses after crossing the finish line, few had any desire or energy to talk.
Xandro Meurisse said it was the coldest he had felt since the 2024 Fleche Wallonne, which was raced in the cold and close to freezing temperature.
"To have a 250km stage in a stage race is pretty long, then had this weather," Meurisse.
"Even if it was dry and warm, we'd have the same race (due to the distance), actually there was no race. It was a boring stage."
More rain is forecast for central Italy on Thursday when Tirreno-Adriatico rides south from Norcia to Trasacco in the Abruzzo region. Fortunately, it should fall overnight and after the stage but the stage climbs high into the Italian Apennines.
The Forca della Civita comes early, with the longer and higher Valico la Crocetta after 104km. It is 1558 metres high, and snow is expected at the summit, hopefully before and after the riders pass.
"Let's hope there's some sun on Thursday for stage 4," Ganna said, expressing the hopes of everyone in the Tirreno-Adriatico peloton.
