The special cooling vests that protect cyclists from overheating this Tour de France have also been flown in headlong for the Four Days Marches. The Red Cross has ordered 500 copies to keep its volunteers cool.
Cooling vests have been commonplace in the cycling peloton for a number of years now. Riders wear them for stages to better control their body temperature. No complicated computers are needed for this.
If you immerse the vests in the water for twenty minutes, you will then benefit from the cooling that the garment produces for three days. This saves the body energy and reduces the risk of dehydration.
That was exactly what the Red Cross was looking for for its volunteers at the Four Days Marches. When it became clear on Sunday that there were really days with extreme heat coming, the aid organization quickly contacted Johan Tiesnitsch from Beek (Berg en Dal). he is the man who, with his company IZIBodyCooling, supplies cooling vests to top cyclists in the Tour.
Tiesnitsch: “I was able to deliver quickly. 500 Red Cross employees are now walking around in our vests during the Four Days Marches. As long as they remain cool, they can also continue to provide medical assistance to walkers and revelers who need it.”
What is the secret of the vests? “It contains a hydrogel. If you put it in the water, the gel sucks itself up. As soon as you put on the vest, the water will evaporate from that gel and that provides cooling,” explains Tiesnitsch.
“Thanks to the vest, the body does not have to sweat as much to stay cool, which saves energy. And reduces the risk of dehydration.”