(CNN) –– The second stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné cycling resulted in chaos when a strong hailstorm, with large ice, began to fall on the cyclists.
Competitors were caught in bad weather just a few kilometers from the end of the race at the top of Col de Porte in southwestern France.
"Many cyclists, including our boys, were hit by a large hail storm," reported a tweet from the Israel Start-Up Nation (ISN) team.
"The scene was total chaos ... cyclists running for cover, hit hard by what appeared to be frozen mini ping pong balls," he added.
Many Riders - including our boys - were hit by one hell of a hail storm - worst Than anything we expirienced. The scene was total chaos and mayhem. .. riders running for cover, hit hard by icy mini ping pong balls. #CriteriumduDauphine @dauphine pic.twitter.com/Y6XI0PCSRs
- Israel Start-Up Nation / Israel Cycling Academy (@YallaIsraelSUN) August 13, 2020
Belgian rider Tim Declercq ended up with large red welts on his back from hail, which began shortly after the race leaders finished.
"As if Le Dauphiné wasn't painful enough for your legs, #granizos," Declercq wrote on Instagram.
He later posted a photo showing how the redness had started to subside.
Another rider, Maxime Chevalier from B&B Hotels-Vital Concept, also had red markings on his back.
🤯 @maxxxchr attaqué for a peloton of grêlons sur la deuxième étape du @dauphine! 😱🌩
🙏 Respect them gars. # Dauphiné l #ThereIsNoTry pic.twitter.com/iIcpeA9VLD
- B&B HOTELS - VITAL CONCEPT P / B KTM (@BBHotels_VC) August 13, 2020
"It was crazy, the hail was so big," ISN's Guy Niv said in a video posted by the team on social media.
"Normally, when this type of hail falls, you stay at home, but we were still walking, we still had almost 2 kilometers to go to the top of the climb," he said.
"I felt pretty bad also for the onlookers on the side of the road, because they were there without any shelter."
It was quite painful actually. I just wanted to finish and go straight to the bus… it wasn't the best experience for the end of this day.
According to ISN, one of the team's cyclists managed to take cover in a tent 500 meters from the finish line, while Tony Martin, from Team Jumbo-Visma, received an inflatable raft from a fan to protect himself.
The 135-kilometer stage, which started in Vienne, was won by Slovenian Primož Roglic, who broke away from the leading group in the last kilometer and finished eight seconds ahead of Frenchman Thibaut Pinot.
Hail competition