With the average temperature scorching above 41°C (105.8°F) on the shortened stage 15 of the Vuelta a España, no one gave a more honest assessment of the safety of the racing conditions than Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike), who said he wouldn't be surprised to see "a few bodies going home in an ambulance tonight with heatstroke."
Speaking at the finish line after congratulating teammate Wout van Aert on his victory and cooling his face down with a splash of water, triple stage winner Brennan was outspoken about the brutal temperatures in Córdoba, which caused the Vuelta's organisers to remove 79km from the route the evening before.
"Well, I wouldn't do it again, but yeah, on here we have 41°C average," he said, looking down at his bike computer. "So that's the average; when I was on the climb at the start, it was 44°C. At that point, you start thinking, 'what are we doing?'" said Brennan to Eurosport.
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"You know, a normal office person has to have their temperature set at 20°C or whatever, and I'm sure the people in the UCI office will have theirs set at 20°C.
"So when we are out there slogging away for their sake, I mean it's not great, but we do it… and that's the show we put on, but I think it wouldn't surprise me if there is a few bodies going home in an ambulance tonight with heatstroke."
Unsurprisingly, after the sweltering temperatures on Sunday, Brennan was most excited about the prospect of tomorrow's rest day, where he plans to do a grand total of nothing as he recovers for the final six stages.
When racing resumes on Tuesday in Cortegana for a likely sprint stage to La Rábida. Palos de la Frontera, Brennan will once again be expected to star, alongside Van Aert.
"Yeah, I do what I do best tomorrow, which is nothing, so I'm looking forward to that. Just lie on my bed, sleep, then the day after come up with a plan," added the young Brit.
"I think the boys are ready; we've got a lot of motivation from what we are doing, and what stage are we on? 15, so we've picked up a third of victories – why not go for more, why not go for 6 or 7 victories. We'll see what we can do."
In one of the most impressive Vuelta debuts in recent memory, Brennan has proved a true star of the race already at 21, and after the continuous displays of strength from him, Van Aert, and Visma's well-oiled stage-hunting machine, it wouldn't be surprising to see them win at least twice more in the coming days. He'll be desperate for the temperature to come down, though.
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