Riders already suffered in the heat during stage 3 of the Tour de France as they raced over the Pyrenees from Granollers to Les Angles but now they face even more extreme weather for Tuesday’s stage 4 from Carcassonne to Foix in southwestern France. Temperatures are expected to reach 37°C in Foix at the time of the stage finish.
Cyclingnews witnessed the fatigue of the riders after they finished in Les Angles. Many were covered in salt stains due to significant sweating and everyone had clearly suffered in the heat of the day.
“I don’t think I’ve done such a hard race in such heat before; it was ridiculous,” Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) said beyond the finish line.
“It was like a warzone. I think we went through about 10,000 bidons today as a peloton. I just didn’t have anything in the final. I was a bit cooked, that was some day.”
France and much of Europe endured African heat in the weeks before the start of the Tour and the conditions are forecast to return this week in southwestern France.
The French government told local French prefects they could cancel stages of the Tour if a Code Red weather alert is confirmed to protect spectators, police and also to protect emergency services. A Code Orange alert has been confirmed for several departments where stage 4 will pass on Tuesday but so far no plans to change the stage or consider cancelling the stage have been made.
“If I wasn’t a pro, I wouldn’t ride my bike in this heat. It’s not healthy,” Matteo Trentin, who often speaks out about rider safety, told Cyclingnews in Les Angles. “Nothing has been said so far, we’re facing the problem day by day. Unfortunately it’s difficult now, so close to each day of racing, to change the stage, to change the stage times, or do virtually anything.
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“It’s always been hot at the Tour but it’s never this hot. It doesn’t cool down much even during the night and it’s hot even early in the morning. Stage start times have gradually moved later in the day, to between twelve and one o’clock, and that’s not very smart.”
The UCI has an Extreme Weather Protocol that offers guidelines and countermeasures, including increasing in-competition hydration and cooling, and even cancellation of the race.
The Extreme Weather Protocol uses a Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) climatic index, that combines the air temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed on human body temperature to understand the conditions the riders face during a race.
The UCI have created a simple spreadsheet calculation with five different levels, with race officials and team and rider representatives meeting before races to calculate the WBGT and decide on any countermeasures. The WBGT calculation formula and spreadsheet data are not available to the public.
A WBGT temperature between 23°C and 27.9°C is considered in the orange zone, with ‘moderate to high risk’. The red zone is above 28°C and those conditions are considered high risk.
Teams have introduced extra measures to help riders stay cool before and during stages with ice vests, ice socks, ice cubes around their necks and ice slush being used to lower core body temperatures. Many teams also have ice baths available at the finish near team buses, while racing riders spray cold water on their bodies to help heat dissipation.
Tour de France organisers are reluctant to reduce or cancel stages due to extreme weather and try to appease teams and riders by allowing extra cooling during the stages of the Tour.
“We are ready to adapt anywhere, anytime, all the time,” Prudhomme told reporters before the Tour de France began in temperatures of 33°C last week.
“We will provide more ice to the teams. We can also allow the feed zones more often and we already added a third motorbike to give more water bottles to the riders during the stage.”
Like most, tour leader Tadej Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad do a lot to try to handle the heat during stages.
“It’s a real logistical nightmare when it’s hot,” Pogačar explained after winning stage 3.
“Water is so important to keep your body cool. Five years ago it was definitely totally different from what we have now. As a team we’re really starting to put a lot of effort into this, to bring water and ice to the riders. Sometimes the valley is warm and so three guys go back to the car to take bottles and ice. [To] keep cooling yourself makes a big difference.”
Ice-socks and cool techniques help the riders reduce the effects of the extreme heat but are not a long-term solution, with temperatures expected to increase year on year.
“We need to face up to the problem seriously, not superficially. We need to all sit around a table and talk about how climate change is impacting our sport,” Trentin told Cyclingnews.
“Starting stages early in the morning and finishing earlier could be a solution. For sure in the long term, in July and August we need to find a solution.”