Tadej Pogacar called for radical change to the professional racing calendar after another day of stifling temperatures, as Mathieu van der Poel won a shortened ninth stage in the Tour de France from Malemort to Ussel.
“If I had the power I would change all the calendar and not race in July and August in hot places,” said Pogacar. “I’d do a completely different calendar, but it’s not something I can do.”
The four-time Tour de France winner added: “Maybe the next step is to start the stages earlier. (On Saturday) there was a proposal to start at 10, but it doesn’t change anything, because then you finish in the heat.
“You need to start at eight or nine, or even before. It’s a little bit sh*t, but I think the (governing) body can adapt to waking up at five o’clock in the morning and doing a stage at eight. But I think I’ve said enough.”
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The undulating stage to Ussel, with three steep climbs in the final 80km including almost 2,700m of altitude gain, was shortened due to the heatwave but the ferocious pace and unrelenting contours had dramatic repercussions for some in the peloton, with former world road race champion Van der Poel of Alpecin-PremierTech winning the stage from a 15-rider breakaway.
Tobias Johannessen was second for UNO-X Mobility and Pinarello-Q36.5 ProCycling’s Tom Pidcock was third.
The Tour always has hot days, but in sustained heatwaves as draining as this, there is only so much an ice vest, ice socks and cold drinks can do.
Beyond the broiling finish line in Ussel, many riders, still in full kit and racing shoes, dropped their bikes to the road and plunged into ice baths in waiting team vans.
Paddling pools and tin baths are even being used by some teams in a desperate effort to reduce the core temperatures of riders as soon as possible after racing.
Decathlon CMACGM are using a portable cryotherapy unit to cool their riders after each stage, speeding up their recovery by lowering body temperature and promoting sleep.
The Professional Cyclists Association is among those arguing more needs to be done to protect riders. “This once again highlights the need to fully implement the extreme weather conditions protocol,” the CPA said after yet another searingly hot afternoon.
Echoing Pogacar’s comments, the CPA added “summer race start times must evolve in order to protect athlete health” and called for “discussions to be held with all stakeholders” during the winter to find a solution before next summer.
Tour director Christian Prudhomme said an earlier start for Sunday’s stage would not have been possible due to logistical reasons. “Waking the riders up at 5am is pretty difficult, even if that’s already happening, for anti-doping controls,” he explained.
Monday’s rest day will offer some respite for the riders but with temperatures predicted to stay in the high 30s into the middle of next week, it will be of little comfort to those who are already suffering.
Sunday saw no change at the top of the general classification, Pogacar remaining 2 minutes 42 seconds ahead of his closest rival, two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard.
The pair crossed the line in Ussel six second back on Van der Poel, with Isaac del Toro and Remco Evenpoel, currently third and fourth in the GC respectively, finishing in the same group to not lose any further time to Pogacar.
Ireland’s Ben Healy finished 17 minutes 24 seconds behind the stage winner, seeing him climb eight places in the GC to 106th.
Racing resumes on Tuesday with a 161.3km 10th stage from Vichy to Nevers. – Guardian
