{"id":2041099,"date":"2026-07-13T16:03:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T13:03:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2041099"},"modified":"2026-07-13T16:03:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T13:03:38","slug":"riders-group-calls-for-action-as-tour-de-france-cooks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2041099","title":{"rendered":"Riders Group Calls for Action as Tour de France Cooks"},"content":{"rendered":"
Competitors at the Tour de France have always had it tough, but aside from the speed, the mountains and the wind, they have an additional barrier this year.<\/p>\n
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The sun.<\/p>\n
The Tour has been pummeled by repeated heatwaves since the race start in Barcelona on July 4. On stage 3 the publicity caravan and many spectators were absent due to public safety rules being imposed over related wildfires.<\/p>\n
Then on Sunday stage 9 was slashed by 30km due to what race organizers ASO labelled \u2018an exceptionally intense heatwave.\u2019<\/p>\n
Now both the Professional Riders\u2019 Association (CPA) and the Tour de France race leader Tadej Poga\u010dar have called for a big rethink about the sport and about the Tour.<\/p>\n
The CPA addressed the subject on Sunday morning, suggesting the situation is a dangerous one that needs to be tackled.<\/p>\n
In a statement it said it that it had consulted with both race organizer ASO and the president of the jury in relation to the extreme weather conditions protocol, and that agreements had been made as a result.<\/p>\n
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The group\u2014which was set up to give riders leverage within the sport\u2014said that it had leveraged a 2% increase to the time limits to help the riders cope with the grueling conditions.<\/p>\n
For the future, it stated that all parties\u2014CPA included\u2014will meet whenever difficult weather conditions endanger the health of the riders.<\/p>\n
It also called for further change, echoing calls that the current Tour time schedule is no longer safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the increasing frequency of extreme heat waves, the CPA reaffirms that summer race start times must evolve in order to protect athlete\u2019s health,\u201d it stated in the press release.<\/p>\n
The CPA added that it \u201curgently calls for discussions\u201d to be held with all stakeholders this winter in order to find a solution prior to the 2027 season.<\/p>\n
There is a sense of urgency right now that it wants to carry forward.<\/p>\n
Yellow jersey Poga\u010dar wants calendar to be reinvented<\/h2>\nSpectators have also had to resort to whatever measures they can to cool down (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Poga\u010dar, too, has clout in the sport. He\u2019s the most recognizable rider and the most successful of the modern era. Leading the Tour gives him an additional platform and he used that to speak his mind in recent days.<\/p>\n
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He floated a radical transformation of the Tour de France and the sport itself as a possible solution.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my opinion, it\u2019s a big topic to discuss,\u201d he said at the finish in Ussel. \u201cIf I could have the power to change it all, I would change all the calendar.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would not race in July and August in the hot places and do a completely different calendar. But that\u2019s something that you need to think through very well.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not something I can do. Maybe the next step will be to start earlier the stages.\u201d<\/p>\n
Modifying start times has been proposed by others as a possible short-term change. The theory is that it would expose the riders less to the hottest part of the day, leveraging relatively cooler temperatures in the morning to tick off at least some of the kilometers in more humane conditions.<\/p>\n
However Poga\u010dar did accept that such an option is not straightforward.<\/p>\n
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He pointed out that starting stages at 10am would mean that they would finish in a hotter time of day than at present. Most stages finish around 5.30 pm local time.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, today when we arrived at the finish, it was way cooler than at the start,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Changing finish times to 3 or 3.30 pm would undo that benefit, even if it would be cooler when the flag drops for the start of racing.<\/p>\n
And there\u2019s another complication too.<\/p>\n
Were earlier start times to go ahead, he said that this would impose a different demand on riders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you need to start the stage at eight or nine or even earlier,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s also a little bit shit. But I think the body can adapt to do that as well, that you wake up at five o\u2019clock in the morning and do the stage at eight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something has to be done. What exactly that is remains to be decided.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019re in something extreme\u2019<\/h2>\nYou generate shade any way you can at the Tour de France (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
For now riders have to just cope the best they can.<\/p>\n
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The Tour\u2019s competitors have taken every step possible to deal with the conditions, with many teams running short on bottles due to the sheer volume of water being guzzled, sprayed or dunked over heads.<\/p>\n
EF Education-EasyPost has a separate vehicle on the race purely for making and transporting ice, while Ineos Grenadiers used some quirky lateral thinking to try to cool down their riders prior to the opening team time trial.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a real slog, and it\u2019s taking its toll.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe riders are starting to get fed up, they\u2019re worn out, everyone\u2019s tired,\u201d former rider Tony Gallopin told l\u2019Equipe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve already experienced extreme heat, but like this, with big temperatures every day, without ever having a real lull or a little freshness, never! At times, it is 40 degrees in the car. We\u2019re in something extreme.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis kind of situation will become recurring in the future, so it may have to be taken into account.\u201d<\/p>\n
Double stage winner Tim Merlier hailed the decision to shorten Sunday\u2019s stage.<\/p>\n
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\u201cFor me, it\u2019s a good idea,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause it\u2019s been a week now that we\u2019ve run above 35 degrees. It\u2019s the first time in my career that I\u2019m so hot. The first three days, we only thought about the race, but the next three, we were just busy recovering water and ice from the cars.\u201d<\/p>\n
He thanked ASO for hacking 30km off stage 9, saying that they were \u201cat least trying to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n
A leap in average temperature<\/h2>\n\u00a0Like many riders, Tadej Poga\u010dar has been using large amounts of water to try to cool down (Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat \/ AFP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Heat has always been a challenge for riders at the Tour; one of the contributing factors to Tom Simpson\u2019s death in 1967 was the ferocious temperature on Mont Ventoux.<\/p>\n
However what is indisputable is just how much hotter this Tour has been. Climate change data shows an upward trend in general, but this July has been a real scorcher. The race has been noticeably hotter than previous years, with the stat below showing an average nine degree Celsius [rise when compared to last year\u2019s event.<\/p>\n
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\u2600\ufe0f The average temperature per year at the Tour de France:<\/p>\n
\u2014 Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) July 13, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
That\u2019s why, despite all the gulping of water by riders some of them have lost up to 10 pounds of body weight on stages through dehydration.<\/p>\n
They will all try to use Monday\u2019s rest day as a chance for some respite.<\/p>\n
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Matteo Jorgenson even said he was going to abandon the usual training ride on such days in order to soak up more time with the air conditioner.<\/p>\n
Such lounging around in chill air appears not be an option for Poga\u010dar\u2019s team, which has been hit by an unforeseen problem.<\/p>\n
El Pa\u00eds journalist Carlos Arribas reported that the UAE team has been unable to use air condition at its hotel.<\/p>\n
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Pogacar y los suyos duermen en un hotel sin aire acondicionado y si ponen su climatizaci\u00f3n salta la luz. Aqu\u00ed los vemos cuando salen hoy a entrenar. Video de @carlosarribas pic.twitter.com\/80niCrOkpv<\/p>\n
\u2014 Sergi L\u00f3pez-Egea (@sergi_lopezegea) July 13, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
However it\u2019s not all heat and hassle at UAE Emirates-XRG. RMC Sport has reported that during the Tour the squad has been using a customized Eight Sleep system to control sleeping temperatures.<\/p>\n
The cost of the technology? More than 3,000 per rider, and therefore upwards of \u20ac26,000 for the whole team.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a big bill, but an even bigger potential gain.<\/p>\n
That\u2019ll stop them getting hot under the collar about the air con.<\/p>\n
Still, in the absence of an equivalent for racing kit, riders and teams are faced with a new challenge to solve.<\/p>\n
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The heat is a headache too for race organizers, who have some big picture thinking to do for the years ahead.<\/p>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Q4A4480.jpg”] Shane Stokes Updated July 13, 2026 11:08AM Competitors at the Tour de France have always had it tough, but aside from the speed, the mountains and the wind, they have an additional barrier this year. The sun. The Tour has been pummeled by repeated heatwaves since the race start in Barcelona on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2041099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2041099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2041099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2041099\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2041099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2041099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2041099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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