XDS-Astana Team sport director Yvon Ledanois said on July 12 before stage nine: “I’ve done more than 30 Tours and I’ve never seen weather conditions this hot every single day. It isn’t a case of having one extremely hot day and then returning to normal conditions the next.”
Despite his otherworldly talent, the Slovenian phenom revealed that he suffered through the record-breaking, deadly European heat wave that has marred this year’s Tour. Pogačar said on July 7 after stage four’s 104°F heat that he “had a full headache” because of the conditions, warning that it becomes "dangerous if you don't keep your body temperature down." According to Climate Central, an international group of scientists and journalists, the heat on July 7 was five times more likely to occur as a result of climate change.
Tour de France competitors are shielded from the sun during a heat wave on July 12, 2026 in Malemort, France. —Tim de Waele—Getty Images
In an effort to protect athlete health and recovery after pushing their bodies through extreme heat, some teams prepared ice baths and paddling pools at stage finishes, while others resorted to more novel preventative measures; Netcompany-INEOS riders prepared for the first stage team time trial in Barcelona with their forearms resting in 47.8°F water, lowering their core temperature without affecting warmed-up leg muscles.
“My co-authors and I have been following the heat during this Tour with horror,” says Cvijanovic. “This summer is clearly extreme—there was simply no opportunity to be lucky as France and Spain have been under heat wave warnings for weeks.”
Tiesj Benoot of Belgium and Decathlon CMA CGM Team wearing an ice vest to cool down during the heat wave on July 12, 2026 in Malemort, France. —Tim de Waele—Getty Images
In 2024, the UCI added a High Temperature Protocol to its Extreme Weather Protocol centered on Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), a measure calculated using temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle, and cloud cover that is used by other sports governing bodies. If the WBGT surpasses 82.4°F, the protocol suggests organizers modify the race start time, adapt the course to remove hazardous segments, or cancel the race entirely.
Pogačar advocated for stages starting and finishing earlier in the day. “[On July 11] there was a proposal to start at 10 [a.m.], but it doesn’t change anything because then you finish in the heat. You need to start at eight or nine, or even before.”
If organizers do not have the flexibility to move start times or cancel stages in extreme heat, Cvijanovic says every potentially risky stage should be scheduled early in the morning, adding there are vast, publicly-available climatological datasets that could be used for this purpose.
Scientists, though, note that Europe is warming at more than double the global average rate, making extreme events like heat waves and wildfires more likely. People around the world, including those at the Tour de France, are experiencing the impacts of climate change now. “We need to think as humans,” said Team Cofidis sport director Bingen Fernández. “We are creating this. We’re burning petrol. Climate change is here.”
"We need to face up to the problem seriously, not superficially," said former European champion Matteo Trentin. “We need to all sit around a table and talk about how climate change is impacting our sport.”
“Sadly, this [year’s Tour] is a glimpse of the future if we do nothing to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions,” says Cvijanovic. “This is what a warming world looks like, and it is not fun at all.”
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