'First time in my life the DS told us to just do nothing' – How are riders and teams really surviving amid extreme heat at the Vuelta a España?

Extreme heat is not new to the Vuelta a España, with trips to the southern half of Spain long forcing the peloton to endure temperatures above 40°C. But the consistent stretch of scorching conditions in this 81st edition, almost ever since the race reached its home nation on stage 4, is pushing the peloton close to its breaking point.

The 15th stage to Córdoba was shortened by 79km after an activation of the Extreme Temperatures Protocol to protect the riders' safety. On paper, this may not seem crazy, but it's the first time a stage has been shortened at the Spanish Grand Tour in its modern history.

When the stage kicked off at 14:50 from Palma del Rio, the temperature reading was already up to 38°C, and after the riders battled hard through the intense 110km stage, the termómetro urbano read 44°C.

"It was the riders' idea; they proposed that we put into effect the extreme weather protocol," revealed Javier Guillen, Vuelta race director, at the start of stage 15.

"We had a meeting on Saturday morning about today. There were lots of suggestions and considerations which we thought about during the stage, and that's why we decided, given the extreme temperatures, that we'd knock 79 kilometres off the stage."

But just how exactly have the riders been coping? Similarly-high temperatures affected the Tour de France peloton earlier this season, but rarely were the temperatures consistently above 40. Some teams have seen unprecedented action from their sports directors, while others have chosen to simply accept that this is the way it is.

"It's the same for everyone, but I think we're all struggling a bit now. It's quite brutal. So I think they did the right thing to shorten the stage," said Tobias Halland Johannessen to Cyclingnews on Sunday.

"It's the first time in my life that we were sitting in the bus yesterday, and the DS told us to just do nothing. 'You can just sit in the peloton and don't use any matches at all,' because for our health, it's not good to go full gas in this heat.

"In normal conditions, we would never get that message to just do nothing. I heard a lot of different teams also playing the same card, to be a bit smart and think about the future while doing the race in these conditions."

Bryan Coquard was one of the riders hoping to play out a final sprint on Sunday, but struggled on the climbs and in the heat. The Cofidis rider noted how this is what he and his teammates were expecting when they saw the route of the Vuelta, and how he's raced in high temperatures akin to that of the 2026 race just two years ago.

"I don't know how many times I've been in this kind of heat, but I do know two years ago we had something similar [in the first week of 2024], and it's certainly very hot, but that's the Vuelta," said Coquard before stage 15.

"I've been OK in this kind of weather in the Tour Down Under; it's very difficult for the body, but that's the Vuelta. As soon as we saw the route, we already knew it would be very hot at that time of year. It's good that we've cut the number of kilometres; the course has to happen, we had to do it, but having less time under the heatwave, that's better.

"This is the Vuelta in the south of Spain in early September; it's what we've got. We were talking on the bus about how the Giro and Vuelta should change places, but I don't know. I've got 110 kilometres and a sprint to do."

How some riders are thriving as the exhaustion builds

Looking down the results lists of the recent stages at the Vuelta, it's clear to see where riders who are more accustomed to such high temperatures, such as those who've grown up in the heat, have been able to hold their form.

US rider Kevin Vermaerke is one of those who has been active in several breakaways, on stages 13 and 14, where he attacked solo. Growing up in Southern California, the 25-year-old was almost able to say he was enjoying it, but not quite.

"I'm actually… I won't say I'm enjoying it because it's almost impossible to enjoy," he told Cyclingnews on Sunday. "But I think it's probably also one of the reasons I've been so active the last few days, and maybe keep finding myself in the front, is that I can handle it better.

"I grew up in Los Angeles, and I remember in the summer, even after school, going for rides at 3 o'clock, and it being super hot, and I guess my body's just maybe a bit more used to that than the Europeans.

"It's definitely something I'm trying to use to my advantage, and yeah, I have to say I really prefer the south of Spain and the Vuelta to a cold, rainy Paris-Nice stage."

One anomaly is Andreas Leknessund, with the Uno-X Mobility rider coming from Trømsø in northern Norway. Pictures have long circulated on social media of him with icicles hanging from his eyelashes as he trained in -24°C conditions at home, a 64°C differential to the temperatures he faced going all-out in the breakaway on stage 15.

After making several late attacks to try and steal a march on eventual winner Wout van Aert and the rest of their breakaway companions, Leknessund tried to explain just why he's still able to perform in conditions that in theory should be alien to his body.

"Hydration and preparation, but still, when the heat is like this it just gets so much more exhausting," he said to Eurosport. "I think when the shape is good, and the physical level is high, then you can also cope with the hot weather. It's not too bad, and everyone just gets more tired; I prefer it that way."

Pinarello Q36.5's Tom Gloag is riding just his second Grand Tour as a pro, and the young Brit thinks that despite temperatures reaching the limit, the peloton is still soldiering on, with tomorrow's rest day coming just in time.

"I can't speak for the whole peloton, but I think our team in general is not doing too bad actually. We'll have to see today. I mean, it's famous last words; there's a reason today's been shortened, and it is a few degrees warmer, so we'll have to see," said Gloag to Cyclingnews ahead of stage 15.

"But I think it definitely has to do with the fact that you're racing for five hours in extremely hot conditions. But so far, I think the peloton's not reached breaking quite yet, which is good."

Gloag also gave some credit to the extra in-race motorbikes present in the Vuelta, and how this is how he'd been best tackling the tough conditions. Riders are having to go through several bidons an hour, upwards of five, to keep themselves hydrated and cool by pouring the ice-cold liquids over themselves, so availability of bottles is essential to making it through the brutal days.

"I just think it's about having access to cold fluids as much as possible. So anything that makes that easier, like the motorbikes - when I was in the break one day, the motorbike was really, really handy," he said.

"But then yesterday I was in the back of the bunch, and I could only really feed from the car when I couldn't find the motorbike that had the cold water in. But I think that's all they can do is give you as much access as possible to things to really cool you down."

The riders may be getting some respite from the sun and heat on Monday, but these conditions aren't going to go away in the final six-stage run towards Granada, even as they head up the final mountains in Sierra Nevada.

Grand Tours are always a race of attrition, but it really will become survival of the fittest as things play out and the cumulative effect of heat exhaustion builds up towards its limit.

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