diff --git a/core/src/main/java/io/cucumber/core/plugin/UrlOutputStream.java b/core/src/main/java/io/cucumber/core/plugin/UrlOutputStream.java
index 04e2004ee8..db5f1f6120 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/io/cucumber/core/plugin/UrlOutputStream.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/io/cucumber/core/plugin/UrlOutputStream.java
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 import java.net.URL;
 import java.nio.file.Files;
 import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Map.Entry;
@@ -69,7 +70,7 @@ public void close() throws IOException {
     }
 
     private Optional<String> sendRequest(URL url, HttpMethod method, boolean setHeaders) throws IOException {
-        HttpURLConnection urlConnection = (HttpURLConnection) url.openConnection();
+        HttpURLConnection urlConnection = openConnection(url, method);
         if (setHeaders) {
             for (Entry<String, String> header : option.getHeaders()) {
                 urlConnection.setRequestProperty(header.getKey(), header.getValue());
@@ -87,21 +88,39 @@ private Optional<String> sendRequest(URL url, HttpMethod method, boolean setHead
             }
         } else {
             urlConnection.setDoOutput(true);
-            try (OutputStream outputStream = urlConnection.getOutputStream()) {
-                Files.copy(temp, outputStream);
-                getResponseBody(urlConnection, requestHeaders);
-            }
+            sendRequestBody(urlConnection, requestHeaders, temp);
+            getResponseBody(urlConnection, requestHeaders);
         }
         return Optional.ofNullable(redirectMessage);
     }
 
+    private static void sendRequestBody(HttpURLConnection urlConnection, Map<String, List<String>> requestHeaders, Path requestBody) throws IOException {
+        try (OutputStream outputStream = urlConnection.getOutputStream()) {
+            Files.copy(requestBody, outputStream);
+        } catch (IOException e){
+            String method = urlConnection.getRequestMethod();
+            URL url = urlConnection.getURL();
+            throw createCurlLikeException(method, url, requestHeaders, Collections.emptyMap(), "", e);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private HttpURLConnection openConnection(URL url, HttpMethod method) throws IOException {
+        HttpURLConnection urlConnection;
+        try {
+            urlConnection = (HttpURLConnection) url.openConnection();
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            throw createCurlLikeException(method.name(), url, Collections.emptyMap(), Collections.emptyMap(), "", e);
+        }
+        return urlConnection;
+    }
+
     /**
      * return the request body
      *
-     * @param  urlConnection  the http connection
-     * @param  requestHeaders the headers sent
-     * @return                the response body
-     * @throws IOException    if an exception occurs
+     * @param urlConnection  the http connection
+     * @param requestHeaders the headers sent
+     * @return the response body
+     * @throws IOException if an exception occurs
      */
     private static String getResponseBody(
             HttpURLConnection urlConnection, Map<String, List<String>> requestHeaders
@@ -118,7 +137,7 @@ private static String getResponseBody(
             if (unsuccessful) {
                 String method = urlConnection.getRequestMethod();
                 URL url = urlConnection.getURL();
-                throw createCurlLikeException(method, url, requestHeaders, responseHeaders, responseBody);
+                throw createCurlLikeException(method, url, requestHeaders, responseHeaders, responseBody, null);
             } else {
                 return responseBody;
             }
@@ -130,16 +149,17 @@ static IOException createCurlLikeException(
             URL url,
             Map<String, List<String>> requestHeaders,
             Map<String, List<String>> responseHeaders,
-            String responseBody
+            String responseBody,
+            Exception e
     ) {
         return new IOException(String.format(
-            "%s:\n> %s %s%s%s%s",
-            "HTTP request failed",
-            method,
-            url,
-            headersToString("> ", requestHeaders),
-            headersToString("< ", responseHeaders),
-            responseBody));
+                "%s:\n> %s %s%s%s%s",
+                "HTTP request failed",
+                method,
+                url,
+                headersToString("> ", requestHeaders),
+                headersToString("< ", responseHeaders),
+                responseBody), e);
     }
 
     private static String headersToString(String prefix, Map<String, List<String>> headers) {
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/io/cucumber/core/plugin/UrlOutputStreamTest.java b/core/src/test/java/io/cucumber/core/plugin/UrlOutputStreamTest.java
index ec432e2709..d9ead04832 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/io/cucumber/core/plugin/UrlOutputStreamTest.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/io/cucumber/core/plugin/UrlOutputStreamTest.java
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.is;
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.nullValue;
 
-@ExtendWith({ VertxExtension.class })
+@ExtendWith(VertxExtension.class)
 public class UrlOutputStreamTest {
 
     private static final int TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 15;