Tour Down Under to ‘keep a close eye’ on bushfire risk as temperatures rise, says race director Stuart O’Grady

Tour Down Under race director Stuart O’Grady has said race organisers will “keep a close eye” on the risk of potentially race-disrupting fires in the Adelaide Hills this weekend when temperatures are forecast to rise above 40°C.

Tuesday evening’s prologue opener went off without a hitch in Adelaide, with Samuel Watson scoring the victory and first ochre jersey of the race, though temperatures are expected to rise later in the week.

The areas surrounding Adelaide have been assigned an ‘extreme’ fire danger rating on Friday by the South Australian Country Fire Service, while a large bushfire burned over 1,600 acres of land last weekend close to Willunga Hill south of Adelaide, which hosts stage 4 on Saturday.

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O’Grady said that the situation is being monitored, with the possibility of stage cancellations on the table should the fire risk worsen.

“The UCI have got the extreme weather protocols in place. But I haven’t heard of a race yet that’s been cancelled or postponed due to heat,” O’Grady said in the pre-race press conference on Tuesday.

“There are different regulations and restrictions around heat and how that’s gauged – taking into consideration humidity and all those kinds of things. So obviously, if it’s a catastrophic fire danger, and we’re in through the Adelaide Hills, then the stage would be cancelled. But yeah, we’ll keep a close eye on it.”

The UCI’s Extreme Weather Protocol designates temperatures above 28°C on the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature scale as being in the high risk, red zone, where races can consider moving start and finish times, neutralising sections or cancelling stages.

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On Thursday and Friday, the Tour Down Under heads into the hills east of Adelaide for stages 2 and 3, with the fire safety rating rising from ‘high’ on Thursday to ‘extreme’ ahead of the weekend. Ratings for the weekend, when the race hits Willunga before concluding with a circuit race in Stirling, will be released later this week.

Five years ago, the race passed through areas badly hit by bushfires in the region, though the race hasn’t yet been directly affected by fires.

Writing in the Guardian last week, Australian racer Maeve Plouffe likened the race to “hosting international friends in a house that is visibly on fire” as she warned of the dangers of racing in extreme heat.

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Plouffe noted the number of January days over 41°C in Adelaide has tripled in the 26 years since the Tour Down Under started, compared to the previous 26 years.

O’Grady said in the pre-race press conference that the hot spell isn’t “unusual” for the region, adding that riders are used to racing in such temperatures, both in Australia and during the European summer.

“We’re in a bit of a hot spell, but that’s not unusual for Adelaide or South Australia in January. I think the guys and the women are fairly used to hot conditions, so I don’t think they expect anything less, to be honest,” he said.

“It’s been warm conditions, but they’re well-trained professionals and used to dealing with hot conditions, especially racing the Tour de France in the peak French summer and the Vuelta in the peak of the Spanish summer. So we’ll keep a close eye on it. But yeah, the guys and women are professionals, they’re well-trained and ready for anything.”