In temperatures that push towards the 40-Celsius mark, the peloton might seem to be the safest place to be, staying in the wheels and avoiding any over-exertion in the Tour de France furnace.
Attacking to get in the breakaway and then racing full-gas for the stage win, by contrast, might have seemed like a daunting prospect as the riders filled their jerseys with ice in an already-sweltering Carcassonne at the start of stage 4.
However, the opposite might just be true, as the eventual winner Mads Pedersen explained.
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“[The heat] is really tough for sure but actually being in the breakaway it’s a bit easier, because you have the car close to you the whole time,” the Lidl-Trek rider said after pulling on the green jersey.
The car he’s referring to is his Lidl-Trek team vehicle, which help supply riders with food, drinks, and mechanical assistance. Teams have two cars in the race and if a rider makes it into the breakaway, that team is allowed to send one of their cars up the road to drive directly behind the break.
All other team cars drive in convoy behind the peloton, in order of the general classification, so if you’re in the peloton and you call for assistance, it can take a long time just for the car to move up through the convoy.
Then, the riders potentially have to drop from the front to the back of what can be a long peloton just to receive any supplies, before then having to move back up through the bunch.
Up in the breakaway, meanwhile, there are fewer riders and fewer teams represented, meaning the cars are much closer at hand. There are also dedicated hydration motorbikes from water sponsor Vittel.
“Honestly, being in the breakaway with the cars that close all time, that makes it easier to cool down,” Pedersen said.
“You can all the time go back to pick up water and ice, so it makes it easier to have the car that close. So when it’s warm it’s nice to be in the break.”
Pedersen did also note that he had the added advantage of having two teammates in the break, who could largely do that work on his behalf. It was also not lost on him the way Mathias Vacek and Quinn Simmons expertly controlled the break to tee up his stage win.
“When talking about a team effort it’s not just on the bike - there were so many people on the road with water and ice to cool down. We went through a few bottles today but it definitely helps to have a good team," he concluded.
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