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Christian Prudhomme: “The watchword is adaptation”. Anne-Christine Poujoulat \/ Getty Images<\/p>\nThe Tour de France gets underway tomorrow in Barcelona, Spain, and the race is preparing itself for extreme heat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
High temperatures are set to continue in Spain and France, after Europe\u2019s record-breaking heatwave in June, and now the world\u2019s biggest bicycle race is grappling with how to protect its riders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The temperature is set to hit 33\u02daC in Barcelona tomorrow, and high temperatures look likely to continue. Stage 4, on Tuesday, from Carcassonne to Foix, could see the peloton cycling through 40\u02daC heat with only a slight drop in temperature on stage 5.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“The watchword is adaptation”
\nChristian Prudhomme: “The watchword is adaptation”. Anne-Christine Poujoulat \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
In the lead up to the Tour de France, race director Christian Prudhomme has been busy speaking to the press about the extreme heat. He has said the organisers are ready to adapt the race amid the extreme weather.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will obviously experience high temperatures during the Tour de France. Protecting the riders and the public is paramount for us. The watchword is adaptation,” Prudhomme told<\/a> AFP.\u00a0<\/p>\n Prudhomme pointed to the UCI\u2019s high temperature protocol, which was introduced before the 2024 season. The protocol considers temperature, humidity, wind and rider speed. The highest risk (red zone), of temperatures above 28\u02daC, can lead to modification of race times, neutralisation and cancellation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Speaking to L\u2019Equipe, Prudhomme said<\/a>: \u201cWe ourselves are going to deploy an additional cooling motorcycle. We\u2019ve requested extra ice. There are all sorts of things involved, and we are in constant contact with the UCI, the riders’ representatives, and the team representatives.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2018re doing things to cool down the body, but we should do things to cool down the planet” Prudhomme has also said riders are used to riding in extreme heat, with temperatures hitting 42\u02daC at the Tour Down Under in January.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n However, that might bring little comfort. Only recently did Elisa Borghini lose 10 minutes on the final stage of the Tour de Suisse after suffering from heat stroke.\u00a0<\/p>\n Following the incident, XDS Astana\u2019s Dr Emilio Magni warned against the severity of heat stroke and pointed to the changing climate.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to accept that climate change is no longer just something people talk about,\u201d Magni told bici.pro<\/a>. \u201cIt is a reality, and sporting events have to respond. There are protocols for extreme weather, but in some places extreme conditions are becoming normal.\u201d<\/p>\n Team Cofidis sports director, Bignen Fern\u00e1ndez, told BikeRadar at the Grand D\u00e9part in Barcelona that the team will use ice packs before and after the Tour de France stages in a bid to keep its riders cool. “It\u2019s the only thing we can do in this situation,” he said.<\/p>\n But, like Magni, he added that this is a climate problem. \u201cWe need to think as humans. We are creating this. We\u2019re burning petrol. Climate change is here,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2018re doing things to cool down the body, but we should do things to cool down the planet.\u201d <\/p>\n
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New Zealand’s George Bennett wearing an ice vest at the 2019 Tour de France. Jeff Pachoud \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n