{"id":77392,"date":"2025-08-17T23:03:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T23:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/77392\/"},"modified":"2025-08-17T23:03:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T23:03:10","slug":"how-do-elite-cyclists-cope-with-searing-heat-during-a-grand-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/77392\/","title":{"rendered":"How do elite cyclists cope with searing heat during a grand tour?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI just want to lie down in the grass and go to sleep,\u201d Charly Gaul said on the scorching, flat second stage of the 1957 Tour de France in Normandy. \u201cGet me a beer.\u201d <\/p>\n

The beer didn\u2019t help and he promptly threw up. He poured water over his head, sucked on orange slices, stuck ice down the back of his jersey and munched amphetamines; other riders put cabbage leaves under their caps to keep their heads cool. But it was to no avail. The Angel of the Mountains could win in the snow atop Monte Bondone at the Giro d\u2019Italia in 1956, but he hated it when it was hot.<\/p>\n

It was clear that Gaul was suffering from heat exhaustion and yet he pedalled on for a further 20km until eventually he pulled over to the side of the road. \u201cIt\u2019s over,\u201d he said, and he climbed off his bike, got in the broom wagon and ended his race. <\/p>\n

\"Jonas<\/p>\n

Vingegaard gulps down water at the end of a punishing stage of the 2023 Tour de France<\/p>\n

ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT\/POOL\/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

Fast-forward to 2023. Another great rider and another heatwave. This time it\u2019s Tadej Pogacar<\/a>, then the two-times Tour de France winner, seeking to take revenge on his great rival, Jonas Vingegaard, who had won the 2022 edition.<\/p>\n

However, Pogacar\u2019s downfall came not on the flat roads of Normandy, but rather high up in the Alps on Col de la Loze on stage 17 after a hot day. Vingegaard attacked and Pogacar dropped back. With about 8km left to go on the climb the Slovenian came on the team radio, his jersey unzipped and flapping in the wind, sweat dripping from his face. \u201cI\u2019m gone,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m dead.\u201d Despite the climb being cooler than the valley, the heat and fatigue were too much.<\/p>\n

While riding a grand tour during a heatwave is nothing new, it is becoming increasingly common and intense in a warming world. This year Spain has endured its hottest August since records began, with Madrid regularly reaching above 40C as wildfires burned in the countryside. These temperatures show little sign of abating before La Vuelta kicks off on August 23 \u2014 a race that was so hot last year that the Italian rider Antonio Tiberi, of Bahrain Victorious, had to abandon it because of heatstroke.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe riders in a grand tour have to cover many hours and their performance is directly impaired by the heat,\u201d says Puck Alkemade, a physiologist at GreenTEG AG. \u201cSo for the same power output you\u2019ll probably have a higher heart rate, but also it\u2019s likely you\u2019re starting to feel the heat more and more in the race, so you will fatigue earlier. If it\u2019s very humid, for example, and you cannot evaporate the sweat effectively, this is a more dangerous situation, because you need to be able to evaporate the sweat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Spectators<\/p>\n

Home and hosed: Spectators spray cyclists with water to help them cool down during the 1957 Tour de France<\/p>\n

UNIVERSAL\/CORBIS\/VCG VIA GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

\u201cThe early signs [of heatstroke] are feeling thirsty, getting a headache, feeling a bit dizzy and excessive sweating,\u201d says Dr Rory Nolan, head of medicine for the Uno-X team, \u201cwhich then can turn into not sweating at all and, in extreme cases, it can lead to people going into a coma if their core body temperature isn\u2019t maintained.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year the UCI, the sport\u2019s governing body, introduced its high-temperature protocol, an amendment to the 2015 extreme weather protocol to help to protect riders. The new guidance enables a panel to take action when temperatures exceed certain zones as measured by the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), which takes into consideration humidity, radiant heat and ambient air temperature.<\/p>\n

A red zone is considered to be above a WBGT temperature of 28C and comes with the advice of adapting the start location to increase shade, authorising more neutral service motorbikes carrying water for riders, removing limitations on drinking and feed zones and \u2014 in the extreme \u2014 adjusting the start time of the stage, neutralising sections and eventually cancelling the stage or race.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn view of the climate changes that the world has been facing in recent years, the UCI wishes to better define the optimal conditions for organising road races in hot climates,\u201d the UCI said in a statement. However, putting these protocols into practice is often easier said than done. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s the extreme weather committee on every race, which should include a team doctor,\u201d Nolan says. \u201cBut it\u2019s not usually well communicated who that person is. So it can become a challenge. As a protocol, I think it\u2019s good. We just need to get better at actually making sure that everything discussed in it is put in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Black<\/p>\n

Italian rider Arrigo Padovan finds a novel way to combat the searing heat in 1957<\/p>\n

KEYSTONE-FRANCE\/GAMMA-RAPHO VIA GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

This is something that Adam Hansen, a former professional rider and now president of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associ\u00e9s, agrees with. He says that it isn\u2019t always clear how to invoke the extreme heat protocol and who is responsible for measuring the WBGT. At the Tour de France<\/a> this year, a WBGT device was attached to an ambulance in the convoy by the organisers \u2014 but more communication is needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw last year in the Vuelta, many stages went past the temperature that it states,\u201d Hansen says. \u201cBut because we couldn\u2019t get a readout on the index, because there was just none of this testing equipment there, we couldn\u2019t invoke the extreme weather protocol. We\u2019re not happy about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, in a warming world, what can be done to combat the heat? \u201cYou have this idea where the races must finish for TV time,\u201d Hansen says. \u201cIt\u2019s 2025, everyone streams when they want. You could have the race finish at 14.30 instead of 17.00, and start earlier in the day. There\u2019s no reason why they can\u2019t start the stage at 10 or 11am, just to get a few hours not exposed to the extremity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you\u2019re doing is you\u2019re essentially reducing the heat by 33 per cent of the time spent there, just by changing the start time. For some reason, the organisers are really fixed on the finish time and to me it just makes no sense. When I mention maybe adjusting the days, they look at me like I\u2019m crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the Volta a Portugal in mid-August, wildfires forced a neutralised section (the race was stopped and then restarted) and a route deviation. More feed zones are likely to be allowed in La Vuelta this year and water may well be sprayed over the riders when the temperatures reach the extremes, but for now the majority of the adaptation and safety measures come from the riders and teams themselves.<\/p>\n

\"Tadej<\/p>\n

Pogacar struggled in the Alps because of the heat during the 2023 Tour de France but coped well in this year\u2019s race<\/p>\n

REUTERS\/ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT<\/p>\n

We are now far removed from cabbage leaves on the head, beers in the hand and amphetamines on the tongue \u2014 although bags of ice are still routinely put down the back of the riders\u2019 jerseys. And while there are things competitors can do on the road (staying properly hydrated and fuelled, pouring water over themselves, using sun protection) there has been one key change to how riders train over the past few years to deal with high temperatures: heat training.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe warmer the body gets, the more it will start to prioritise cooling to protect you,\u201d says Olav Aleksander Bu, the Norwegian sports scientist, head coach of Uno-X and heat-training pioneer. \u201cThe body is like a plumbing system, and typically more of your blood is directed towards the skin. More blood towards the skin means less blood into the muscles, less blood in the muscles means less oxygen in the muscles.\u201d<\/p>\n

As many as two thirds of the peloton are now wearing a Core device on their chest strap. This sensor uses heart rate, skin temperature and an algorithm to calculate core temperature accurately. Pogacar has been spotted wearing one, as has Remco Evenepoel. This device not only allows riders to monitor their temperature for safety reasons, but also to train for heat by deliberately increasing their temperature. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you do heat training you increase your blood volume and the benefit of this is you\u2019re better at sustaining cooling and also supplying more oxygen to your muscles,\u201d Aleksander Bu says. \u201cYou also develop heat proteins, so you get more resilient toward thermal shock than if you don\u2019t do heat training.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cyclist<\/p>\n

Riders are increasingly using core sensors during training and racing to gain performance insights<\/p>\n

\u201cHeat training done right is not only safe, but absolutely essential,\u201d Nolan says. \u201cBy actually doing that training and being heat acclimatised, it massively reduces the risk when they are racing in significant temperatures.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the \u201cnormal\u201d body temperature is 36.5C, for example, a rider will deliberately target 39C or above and maintain that temperature for a period of time just like they might target a heart-rate zone, allowing the body to adapt in a controlled manner.<\/p>\n

Some of the top teams will use dedicated heat chambers (such as those at Precision Fuel & Hydration in Highcliffe in Dorset) to control conditions. But others have to get inventive: Marcel Camprub\u00ec, of Q36.5, is known to have put his turbo trainer in the bathroom, surround it with shower curtains, and turn on the shower to simulate humidity as well as heat.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeat training has become a big thing in cycling, especially this year,\u201d Pogacar said in January on The Drive podcast. \u201cWe try to overheat the body in training sessions or on the home trainer because it is a big factor, especially for me because I always struggle when it is super hot. If you train [like] this, you can be better.\u201d <\/p>\n

And he is better. This year Pogacar seemed unaffected by the heat in the Tour de France as he romped to his fourth overall victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yet there is another question: at what point is it simply too dangerous to ride in extreme heat? When do race organisers need to step up and adjust to a heating world?<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the riders are in favour of adjusting the calendar with global warming,\u201d Hansen says. \u201cThis makes complete sense. And this is difficult for the organisers to get their head around. If you just delay the calendar a couple of weeks or a month, it\u2019s almost ideal for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

La Vuelta<\/p>\n

Starts Saturday, August 23
Stage one, Turin to Novara
TV 11.45am, TNT Sports 3<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI just want to lie down in the grass and go to sleep,\u201d Charly Gaul said on the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77393,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-77392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}