It’s almost a bit like a spa when German professional cyclist Phil Bauhaus steps into his team’s cooling bus after a gruelling stage in the Tour de France. There, he’s greeted by a pool of water at twelve degrees, a yellow rubber duck, and bathrobes hanging by the back door for each rider.
But for the 32-year-old from Bocholt, it doesn’t feel like Spa. The sudden change from warm to cold takes some getting used to. “Yes, you have to want to do it. It’s not as if you just jump in and it’s pleasant,” says the rider who finished sixth in the sprint stage on day seven of the Tour. The first thirty seconds are unpleasant, he says. Then, at some point, the refreshing sensation kicks in.
Temperatures of up to 40 degrees, hardly any shade and scorching hot tarmac beneath their wheels: professional cyclists have to brave the heat time and time again. Superstar Tadej Pogacar recently described the conditions as “dangerous” unless you consistently keep your body temperature down. How do professional cyclists cope with these extreme conditions?
Liquid
Water, of course. The riders are supplied with water and isotonic drinks by the team cars and handed out by staff at the side of the course. Riders often accept these refreshments and pass them on to their teammates.
The first thing that comes to mind at the Bauhaus after a race is a chilled, fizzy water. With all the hustle and bustle of the races, he says, there’s often no time left to drink anything in the last half hour.
Cooling vests
Before and after the race, the professionals often put on a vest to cool their bodies down. Sometimes, during the race, they also tuck ice packs and ice directly into the back of their necks or under their jerseys. You often see riders splashing water directly onto their faces and the backs of their necks as well.
Teams are now extremely aware of the issue of heat and do everything they can to keep the riders cool, both from the inside and out. The UCI, the world cycling federation, recently decided, as a one-off exception, that whole feed bags may be handed out in zones intended solely for water bottles. However, it would take quite a lot for a Tour stage to be shortened because of the heat.
“It’s absolutely sweltering on this Tour, and my body temperature is definitely lower than in 2022 or on any previous Tour. That’s because we really do make a point of keeping cool, and that makes a huge difference,” said four-time Tour champion Pogacar.
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