The heatwave enveloping Europe has come at the wrong time for riders participating in Road National Championships around the continent this week, as nations in Western and Central Europe deal with record-breaking temperatures.
Nations across Western Europe, including the UK, Belgium, and the Netherlands, are seeing temperatures reach up to 35°C, while in parts of France and Spain, the heat has risen well into the 40s.
Accordingly, cycling federations around Europe are made adjustments to their road races and time trials to protect riders from the heat.
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For the Belgian Time Trial Championship on Friday, Belgian Cycling will run a special refreshment zone on the out-and-back course, while the federation is also considering adding sprinklers along a section of the course.
"We will definitely include a refreshment zone for the riders there, which is usually not customary in a time trial," Belgian Cycling director of sport Massimo Van Lancker told WielerFlits.
"Riders can take water or ice there. We are also looking into installing a sprinkler zone, which riders can ride under if they wish. We will also provide even more shaded areas for riders, spectators, and staff in the start and finish zones."
The races will run through the afternoon, with Van Lancker saying it's too late to shift the entire schedule of races to cooler points in the day, given the involvement of police and local authorities.
Changes for Sunday's road races have yet to be finalised, meanwhile. "We are once again providing an extra feed zone. But Sunday is even further away than Friday. We must continue to evaluate everything with the emergency committee over the coming days and then decide," Van Lancker concluded.
In the Netherlands, measures have been taken to shift the time trials away from the middle of the day on Wednesday. The under-23 men's races and all junior events took place in the morning, while the elite races were moved several hours later, starting at 5:15 pm and 7 pm.
"We think it is a real shame that our program, which was fully prepared, now has to be adjusted. And we also feel bad for the riders who are facing major changes. The alternative was to cancel categories, and we found that even less desirable. We are doing everything we can to implement these changes today so that we can all still experience a wonderful race tomorrow," said Jessica Postel on behalf of the Dutch Federation, KNWU.
Over in France, which is contending with some of the highest temperatures in Europe, riders will be competing in the Isère region in the east of the country. It's not one of the regions experiencing temperatures of up to 43°C, but they'll still have to contend with heat in the mid 30s.
The French Road National Championships run from Thursday to Sunday, and French Cycling Federation president Michel Callot told L'Equipe about the measures his organisation will be taking.
"We have tried to ensure that there are as many accessible water points as possible to avoid dehydration. We will also increase communication with spectators, inviting them to take advantage of these cooling facilities," he said.
Riders will benefit from extra tents to shade from the sun, plus misting systems and an air-conditioned truck at the finish, so riders can change in comfort. Extra refreshment zones will also be added along the routes of all races.
"As of today, there is no threat simply because the department is expected to remain on orange alert and not move into the red zone. Therefore, there is less risk of having general measures like those seen in other departments," Callot said, before adding that races won't be rescheduled as "the temperature conditions remain manageable."
In the UK, where races will be held in Aberystwyth in Wales from Thursday to Sunday, similar plans are also in place, even if local temperatures are currently some way lower than the worst-affected areas.
British Cycling told Cyclingnews that the situation will be monitored over the coming days. The federation will aim to provide extra water and medical facilities, and add shaded areas in the start and finish areas of the races.
