Tour de France stopped after a hail storm leaves roads covered in a blanket of hail
Photo by Météo Express
The organisers of the Tour de France have stopped Friday's stage due to a hail storm.
Pictures from the race also show snow on the ground on the stage between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Tignes in the French Alps, a popular ski resort.
Organisers said the course had become too dangerous for the riders, and said that times would be taken from a previous part of the stage.
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The stoppage was announced as the racers were hurtling down a series of hairpin bends, throwing the race into chaos.
TV footage from the race showed an excavator trying to clear a landslide from the course as it became clear it would have been impassable for the racers.
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Team Ineos' sports director Nicolas Portal was disappointed, saying: "We had the race in our hands.. but the riders' safety comes first, ASO (organisers) did a great job.
"We wanted to smash it today and the guys were super motivated. It would have been ideal if the race could have continued".
Kenneth from the Donegal Weather Channel
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