National Championships: French men’s road race shortened due to extreme heat

The elite men’s road race at the French national championships has been shortened by one lap as a result of high temperatures.

A distance of 16.3 km – the equivalent of one full lap of the course at La Tour-du-Pin in the Isère region of France has been cut from the circuit this Sunday “after discussion and consultation with all stakeholders” as a result of “weather conditions”.

The announcement was made by the French Cycling Federation (FFC) and reported in L’Equipe.

Individual time trials were delayed in both the Netherlands and Italy; in an interview with bici.pro, XDS Astana‘s team doctor Emilio Magni issued a stark warning about the severe issues that could be caused by the heat following Elisa Longo Borghini‘s withdrawal from the Tour de Suisse with heat-related health issues.

With the Tour de France beginning in Barcelona next week, the impact of high temperatures will continue to raise concerns for as long as the heatwave persists.

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