Hailstorms at Critérium du Dauphiné stage 2 videos | Sticky Bottle

*Tony Martin finished outside the time limit after being forced to stop and take a spectator's inflatable Jumbo Visma jersey to protect himself from the giant hailstones*

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Tim Declercq's back, below, was left destroyed at the Critérium du Dauphiné today when a freak hailstorm lashed the riders who finished down the field.

While Deceuninck-QuickStep's Declercq showed off the marks on his back due to the hailstones, Tony Martin (Jumbo Visma) finished last on the stage and was caught out by the bizarre weather.

The German took an inflatable Jumbo Visma jersey from one of the spectators and put it over his back to protect him from the impact of the giant hailstones.

Israel Start-Up Nation's Dan Martin was caught in the storm with his team explaining he was in pain from his crash during the race and that it took him 20 minutes to get to the team bus at the end of the race. The team added the hail was "the size of ping pong balls".

Declercq's back, below, bears the marks of a very unusual storm at the end of the stage won by Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) while the videos, also below, from Astana and Israel Cycling Academy capture some of the madness.

Spectators were forced to crouch under trees for cover while riders were forced to a near standstill, and in some cases walked for a period, such was the volume of water and slush on the roads on the Col de Porte up the finish line.

*Tim Declercq's back tells the story of a freak weather event as the riders were already having a very hard day*

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Within seconds the road looked like a ice rink and riders were desperately trying to stay on their bikes ... or to decide to walk up to the finish line on the ice... #criteriumdauphine @dauphine pic.twitter.com/u5UN2SM43F

— NSN Cycling Team (@NSNCyclingTeam) August 13, 2020