The leader of Groupama-FDJ, David Gaudu, experienced a heat stroke at the start of the stage and needed his teammates to get back into the peloton.
Runners dripping as if they just got out of their shower, some eating an ice cream as soon as they get back to the bus to cool down, others answering interviews seated in an armchair rather than standing as usual… On arrival at Issoire, Tuesday July 11, the heat of the day, with 37 degrees announced and more than forty felt, left its mark.
From the start at Vulcania on Monday morning, the heat hit the riders, dressed in ice vests to keep their body temperatures as low as possible before getting on the bike. These vests were back at the finish, and Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), the Danish champion, rushed to put one on to give interviews. “Without comparison, it was the hottest day I have ever raced. For a Dane, it was a battle to fight this heat”he said. “It was perhaps the hardest stage of the Tour, we will take stock in two weeksabounds Julien Jurdie, sports director of AG2R-Citroën. Hydration is very important, to drink, to water and to keep the body temperature not too high, but there is no miracle solution, when you are on the bike”.
Hot shot for David Gaudu
Groupama-FDJ had planned a lot of pit stops, which the Swiss Stefan Küng tried to take advantage of, despite the pace of the race: “We had a lot of people on the side of the road for supplies, every 10 or 15 kilometers, and sometimes we went to the car, but when things are going full throttle, it’s difficult to take bags”. On arrival, the runner therefore hastened to get on the bus to get an ice cream, savored on the home-trainer. “From memory we have already had days on the Tour when it was at least as hot, or even more, but it was not going at that speed.he said. The race started from kilometer 0 and was never really settled, that’s what made it even harder”.
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The Swiss, who started at the front, had to drop out to wait and support his leader, David Gaudu, dropped by the peloton at the start of the race. “I had a heat stroke from the start. But once it passed, I felt good and I was lucky to be able to count on my team, otherwise I would have been far at the finish. I focused on my breathing, I tried to water myself, but I’m sorry for my team, because they had permission to go forward and in the end we see that the breakaway go to the end”explained the Breton.
On the side of the leaders of the general classification, if Jonas Vingegaard ensured “live well in the heat”Tadej Pogacar, who suffered from high temperatures during the Col du Granon stage in 2022, during which he lost his yellow jersey, was able to count on the support of his teammates. “It’s been a lot of work for the team to cool me down all day. I hope it will go down in temperature. After today’s race, it feels like the rest day was there. for a long time”, said the Slovenian. After the podium, he hastened to immerse himself in a cold bath, installed in a van of his team next to his bus. Wednesday, the temperatures are expected to be milder, with around 25 degrees and clouds to hide the blazing sun.