Heatwave frequency, intensity a threat to Tour de France

PARIS – France has just endured a punishing heatwave, with another potentially on the way soon after the country’s emblematic cycling race starts this weekend.

Heatwaves are an increasingly common nuisance – or threat – in the European nation, and all over the world.

And that threat hangs over the Tour de France, which begins in Barcelona on July 4 before returning to France two days later.

It seems almost blasphemous to question it, but could the traditional July event one day be forced to adapt to the heat or even move to a different month?

For the French national championships, which took place from June 25 to 28, the route through the south-eastern region of Isere was shortened due to scorching 40 deg C temperatures. Supporters lining the streets spoke of suffocating, while riders said it felt like they were cycling into a hairdryer.

Temperatures dropped below 30 deg C at the start of this week but are due to rise again next week, putting the peloton’s powers of resistance to the test, even though professional cyclists “are not people like us” but rather “Formula One cars” accustomed to the heat, according to France coach Thomas Voeckler.

Heat during the Tour is also nothing new, as old black-and-white images of riders jumping into fountains or darting into cafes attest.

As recently as 2022, on a stage between Rodez and Carcassonne in south-western France, temperatures hit 40 deg C without any untoward incidents.

Riders taking part in the Tour Down Under in Australia in January often face such scorching heat.

But the increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves have shone the spotlight on the possibility that one day, a Tour de France stage might have to be cancelled or modified to protect riders and spectators.

‘Critical moment’ coming

“The Tour de France has had a lot of luck up until now in avoiding all the moments of extreme heat,” said Benjamin Sultan, a researcher at the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, who is the co-author of a 50-year-long study of the Tour.

“Given that we’re going to have more than double the number of heatwaves at the end of this century, it’s just a matter of time before the Tour arrives at a critical moment that can affect its planning,” added the climatologist.

Local officials in the southern region of Tarn forced a stage of the Route d’Occitanie in June 2022 to be shortened to just 36km, due to temperatures rising over 41 deg C.

Tour de France general director Christian Prudhomme said that race organisers are already starting to adapt.

“As recently as six or seven years ago, the idea was that the route should be as open as possible so that technical connections work, and so that people could make the most of seeing the riders,” he told AFP.

“Now our thinking is practically the opposite, by looking for tree-lined streets because it is absolutely essential for us that the fans can stay in the shade.”

Another consideration has been shortening stages.

‘Focal point’

Once a race has begun, organisers can adapt to high temperatures by increasing the number of feed zones, or even the time delay for riders to avoid elimination at the end of a stage.

But racing earlier in the day is a more complicated adjustment, due to the huge number of people involved and television and sponsorship revenues to exploit.

“We have to realise that we are not at home on the roads,” said Prudhomme, 65.

“We have authorisation (from police and local authorities) for a certain time, not five hours earlier or later.

“You can’t arrange that at the last moment. You can cut 15 kilometres or start half an hour earlier but that’s about it.”

As for the most radical solution – moving the race to another time of the year – the problem is that the period of elevated heat is growing and the school holidays last for the two hottest months, July and August.

But even then, “our first heatwave (in 2026) was at the end of May”, said Prudhomme.

And any such decision would have ramifications “even beyond” the whole cycling ecosystem.

The Tour de France is “the focal point of the season” around which everything else is organised, he added. AFP