Huge hail storm hits Critérium du Dauphiné riders and spectators

Tim declercq dauphine hailstones
(Image credit: Tim Declercq / Instagram)

The finish of stage 2 (opens in new tab) of the Critérium du Dauphiné (opens in new tab) was battered by a brutal hailstorm on Thursday afternoon, catching out a chunk of the peloton as they rode to the finish atop the Col de Porte and the crowds along the road.

Primož Roglič (opens in new tab) (Jumbo-Visma) had long since taken the stage victory and overall race lead, but even the Slovenian was affected by the storm, his wife and young child forced to seek shelter in the car of Cyclingnews reporter Peter Cossins

Meanwhile, the podium ceremony was cut short after the inflatable roof collapsed just as Egan Bernal (opens in new tab) (Team Ineos) was receiving the white jersey for best young rider.

Deceuninck-QuickStep domestique Tim Declercq (opens in new tab) posted a photo to Instagram of vicious-looking welts on his back suffered after taking hits from the hail, while B&B Hotels-Vital Concept neo-pro Maxime Chevalier had a similar injury.

Other riders caught up in the storm while they were still riding included Tony Martin (Jumbo-Visma), who sought shelter under a fan's rubber raft, Luis León Sánchez (Astana), and Jérôme Cousin (Total Direct Énergie), who finished 14 minutes after the time limit haven taken shelter further down the climb. 

A video taken by Groupama-FDJ directeur sportif shows a large group of riders making their way up the climb in the heavy hail. The video shows 22 riders, including Peter Sagan (opens in new tab) (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) passing through before Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) passes, almost coming to a stop before heading off again.

See more
See more
See more
See more
See more
See more
See more
See more

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Daniel Ostanek
Production editor

Daniel Ostanek is production editor at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired as staff writer. Prior to joining the team, he had written for most major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly, Rouleur, and CyclingTips.

 

Daniel has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France and the spring Classics, and has interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel, Demi Vollering, and Anna van der Breggen.

 

As well as original reporting, news and feature writing, and production work, Daniel also runs The Leadout newsletter and oversees How to Watch guides throughout the season. His favourite races are Strade Bianche and the Volta a Portugal, and he rides a Colnago C40.