Stage winner Jasper Philipsen pours a full bottle of water over his heated head at the end of the afternoon in Carcassonne on Sunday. Two-time Tour de France winner and bosom friend Tadej Pogacar passes by and sprinkles an extra dose over it. Green jersey wearer Wout van Aert first takes care of his son Georges, who is waiting for him with his wife Sarah at the finish, and gives him a few sips.
The scenes say a lot about the murderous heat of the past few hours. In blistering Occitania it is close to 40 degrees Celsius. Cycling is not the most dangerous sport when temperatures reach record highs: the driving wind dissipates body heat. But when the peloton has to cover 202.5 kilometers in the 15th stage between Rodez and the old fortified city on Sunday, the Tour organization is forced to take special measures.
The fire brigade sprays water on the asphalt in critical places to prevent melting, the temperature of the road surface can rise to sixty degrees. In consultation with the competition jury and the riders’ union, it has been decided to allow supplies along the entire course, with the exception of the last 10 kilometers. Riders are allowed to throw water bottles to spectators everywhere, in normal circumstances a few zones are designated for this. The limit to enter has been raised from 9 to 20 percent of the winning time.
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The teams themselves are not indifferent. Water bottles are not to be dragged. Riders chase a drinking bottle through it every half hour, apart from the ones that only contain water for cooling. Some teams choose to reduce the concentrations of energy powder to prevent them from ingesting too much sugar. Loss of salts is compensated by taking tablets, both at the start and on the way. Shift doctors insist that it is above all else that they apply good lubrication. Britain’s Thomas Pidcock lost a minute in the general classification on Saturday when he lowered himself back to his team’s car: he had forgotten the sunscreen.
Common in the pack are tights filled with ice cubes that riders put on their necks or tucked under their shirts. The melt water runs along the body, often the wicks are replaced within half an hour. Before the start and after the finish, the selections of Jumbo-Visma and Team UAE Emirates, among others, wear cooling vests.
Despite all protocols, more rigorous interventions cannot be ruled out in the long run, such as shortening or even canceling stages. Until now, this was only the case in harsh weather conditions. For example, in 2019 a mountain stage in the Alps was halted when mudslides covered the course after a downpour. But the moment when the heat makes prices irresponsible is approaching. Measurements indicate that temperatures in France are rising faster than the global average. This process would only accelerate in the coming years.
Latest message: Dane Michael Mørkøv even misses the stretched time limit and has to leave the Tour.