\u201cIf I had the power,\u201d he said<\/a>, \u201cI would change all the calendar and not race in July and August in hot places.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The trouble started earlier this month when wildfires threatened the Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es-Orientales region<\/a> during the third stage, as each day\u2019s race is called. Organizers considered cancelling it<\/a>, but decided it would continue. Still, they limited the caravan that typically follows it to essential vehicles. They also asked fans, a fixture along every route, to stay away from the last 27 miles<\/a> of the day\u2019s 121-mile race.<\/p>\n \u201cWe invite the public not to come to the edge of the race or to the finish site,\u201d race director Christian Prudhomme<\/a> told France TV. \u201cWith exceptional fires, exceptional measures on the Tour, the first thing is the protection of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n The more persistent problem has been a record-breaking European heatwave. According to ProCyclingStats.com<\/a>, the first two weeks of the Tour brought the highest average temperature of the past two decades: 90 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to 79 degrees in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never seen weather conditions this hot every single day,\u201d said XDS-Astana Team sports director Yvon Ledanois<\/a>. \u201cIt isn\u2019t a case of having one extremely hot day and then returning to normal conditions the next.\u201d<\/p>\n Enduring such heat for one race would be rough, but each of the 21 stages is effectively a race of its own. Competitors ride an average of about 100 miles daily for the better part of three weeks, and it isn\u2019t unusual to see them maintain speeds around 30 mph for hours at a time. Much of the Tour crosses the Alps and Pyrenees, with treacherous climbs. Through it all, riders get just two days of rest.<\/p>\n That kind of prolonged exertion during extreme heat can be dangerous, even for athletes with the specialized training required to complete the Tour. Poga\u010dar reported having a \u201cfull headache\u201d<\/a> at the start of Stage 4 as temperatures topped 100 degrees. Officials relaxed their rules around food and hydration<\/a>, and one team said each of its riders was drinking around 28 bottles of water<\/a> every day, which is several times the norm<\/a>. Many also wore \u201cice vests\u201d<\/a> before the start of each day\u2019s ride, and \u201cice socks\u201d during it. Things got so bad that race organizers shortened one leg for the first time in Tour history<\/a> when they cut 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from Stage 9. The government told regional officials they could cancel them entirely<\/a> in the event of a red heatwave alert.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even when the sun went down, the respite was minimal. Temperatures didn\u2019t ease much, and many European hotels do not have air conditioning. \u201cWhen we have these high nighttime temperatures, the body isn\u2019t able to recover sufficiently,\u201d Kurt Shickman, who works on heat issues at the World Resources Institute, told Grist<\/a> when asked about early July\u2019s heatwave. \u201cThey\u2019re going into the next hot day with a couple strikes against you from a health perspective.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Recent research<\/a> has shown these hazards are growing more frequent and intense. \u201cMy co-authors and I have been following the heat during this Tour with horror,\u201d Ivana Cvijanovic, a climate scientist at the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development and the paper\u2019s lead author, told TIME<\/a>. \u201cThis summer is clearly extreme \u2014 there was simply no opportunity to be lucky as France and Spain have been under heat wave warnings for weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n Read Next<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n As climate change threatens student athlete safety, states try to adapt<\/a><\/p>\n The brutal conditions have sparked a discussion about the Tour\u2019s support from fossil fuel companies<\/a>. French oil giant TotalEnergies sponsors a team and has signed a three-year deal to underwrite the race. Australian energy company Santos has long backed the Tour Down Under<\/a>. While their funding helps finance riders and events, these companies are driving climate change, which threatens the viability of cycling and other sports, including the World Cup<\/a> \u2014 where Saudi oil giant Aramco was a major advertiser.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Cyclists](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Tadej-Pogacar-Tour-de-France-heat-fire-climate-change-ice-vests.jpeg\")
Paul Seixas and his teammates wear vests dotted with ice packs to cool down at the start of the ninth stage of the race.
\n Ann-Christine Poujoulat \/ AFP<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/k12-heat-safety-illo.jpg\")
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