Tour Extreme Weather Protocol. Heat is on ASO and UCI
Riders are fed up with idle talk and little action. Debate becoming heated.
The riders in this Hors Category High Temp Tour are furious.
ASO and the UCI have done almost nothing except the usual platitudes about safety, prioritizing rider health and the difficulties of changes stage start times. They did allow water feeds at every feed station. To which the riders said “Whoo-Hoo!
Will it really, shortly turn into a battle on every stage of the race? With riders battling for the last ice cube in hopes of simply surviving for another day? After all, Tom Pidcock called the situation “a war zone.”
Dylan van Baarle got right to the point: “We have a heat protocol, but I think it’s tucked away in some far corner. Is this still responsible? That’s a good question… I don’t think so,”
Then there’s wise old vet Matteo Trentin, who told Wielerflits: “It’s really time for all of us to sit down together and discuss how we’re going to handle this in the future. This is unhealthy. I don’t know if it’s unsafe, but in any case, it’s not healthy.”
What’s the final answer. Earlier start times, shorter stages, reverse the effects of global warming. Let’s hope cooler heads will prevail.