The second stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné hit many of the familiar beats of this strange season: a furiously contested day’s racing, the intrigue of a Team Ineos apparently on the decline, and a rider in the colours of Jumbo-Visma winning the day, just as has been the case on seven occasions this August alone. But while there was ample excitement just at the pointy end of the race, perhaps the most dramatic part of the day came 15 minutes later.
In scenes reminiscent of the neutralised 19th stage of last year’s Tour de France, a massive summer storm that had been building over the mountains broke, sending hail pelting down onto the Col de Porte. As the spectators on the roadside scampered to find shelter, the battlers of the peloton rode on to the finish, some of them ending the day with painful welts from the impact of the hailstones.
On the scene were our photographers Jered & Ashley Gruber, who captured the drama of the moment.
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- There were plenty of fireworks on the slopes of the Col de Porte, but it was Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) who was the first to crest the climb, soaring up to the line…
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- …and sticking the landing, like the former ski-jumper that he absolutely is.
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- Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo) finished ninth on his namesake mountain, just 10 seconds off the pace. He’s looking in good shape. Mikel Landa (Bahrain-McLaren) was method-acting as Fabio Aru (not in this race).
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- In second on the stage, letting the French dream their French dream of French glory, was Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), known goat whisperer. Here he is with a jacket on the way back down. Nice one, Thibaut!
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- Second in this triptych of French heroes is Warren Barguil. The national champion helped teammate Nairo Quintana to fifth on the stage, and then battled his way on to finish 25th.
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- Here is Julian Alaphilippe. Look at him go. He finished 36th on the stage, but – in a much more important symbolic sense – remains #1.
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- The AG2R squawk squad were out in force. Romain Bardet rewarded them with 13th on the stage.
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- Not the best day for Ineos, who splintered and left Egan Bernal isolated at the conclusion of the stage. Here’s Geraint Thomas (left) and Pavel Sivakov (right) descending the mountain toward the team buses. Thomas is furiously blowing a whistle at a ghost in a New Balance hoodie.
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- Michael Schär (CCC) retained the KOM jersey at the end of the stage, with a single point lead over Roglic.
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- The clouds over the Col de Porte were looking ominous, and as the battlers of the peloton started to trickle in, the rain started to get a bit chunkier. Merhawi Kudus (Astana) tried to outride the elements…
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- …but pretty soon it was a full-blown deluge. Here’s Mathieu Ladagnous (Groupama-FDJ) riding diligently into a wall of hail.
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- Edvald Boasson-Hagen (NTT) was not having a very nice time, and didn’t care who knew it.
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- Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-McLaren) was similarly unsatisfied with how his Thursday was panning out.
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- Sometimes in life, you just have to grit your teeth and get through it.
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- Not for the first time and not for the last, sprint powerhouses Alexander Kristoff and Andre Greipel found themselves wishing they were a bit quicker up the hills.
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- Guy Niv somehow mustered the gusto to pop a one-handed wheelie in a torrential hailstorm, I guess?
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- James Knox (Deceuninck-Quickstep) was equal parts drenched and grateful that the team’s kit designer hadn’t opted for white knicks.
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- The road had by now become so hail-covered that it made pedalling a dicey proposition. Adding insult to injury, this Trek-Segafredo rider wasn’t lucky enough to have a poorly illustrated placard to shield himself with.
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- Tony Martin had sheltered under a tree down the mountain, and after the worst had passed, carried on to the summit through drifts of hail. He is visibly bubbling over with delight.
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- “‘Explore the world’, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.”
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- Egan Bernal got his bouquet and got the hell out of there…
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- …just before the inflatable arch over the stage collapsed.
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- Dylan Teuns, now a bit happier with a jacket, rides past a podium stage in a bad way, a ruined fence, and a member of the AG2R squawk squad.
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- I call this still-life ‘The Florist’s Lament’.
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- Wout van Aert, of Wout van Aert fame, after picking up his sprint classification jersey. The green is just a beautiful, seamless match for his Bianchi (which is running rim brakes, if you can believe it).
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- At the mountaintop, a boy in pink was the physical embodiment of 2020.
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- Bikes on the roadside were iced into place.
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- …and then the storm rolled off over the Chartreuse mountains to terrorise some other people. FIN.
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