Houle confirms riders have met with Vuelta organisers over heat concerns

Hugo Houle met with the Vuelta a España organisers to discuss the heat that has dominated the second week of the race, and he confirmed that Saturday's stage 14 would go ahead as planned.

Temperatures reached 41 degrees on Friday's stage to Loja and averaged 34.6 across the day. On stage 12 to Calar Alto, the temperature peaked at 38. Both rank among the hottest stages the race has recorded since 2021.

"We have had open communication about seeing what we can do to keep racing as normal. Maybe we can do more to protect the riders, and the organisation is open to ideas. They are working on coming up with solutions," Houle told TV2 Denmark.

The Canadian is one of the riders' representatives at the race and he said the adjustment for Saturday is limited.

"The stage will be as normal today, and it is only the water points that are being changed for today," said Houle, who rides for Alpecin-Premier Tech.

Work is under way on a plan for Sunday, though Houle said nothing has been agreed.

The commissaires had already relaxed the feeding rules for stages 14 and 15 after stage 13, allowing teams to distribute musettes from the car from start to finish, though feeding from the car remains prohibited inside the designated zones under UCI rule 2.3.025 bis. A similar exemption was granted for stage 11 to Lorca.

The organisers have stopped short of shortening stages or moving start times, which the Tour de France did in July when a red heat alert in the Corrèze forced stage 9 to Ussel to be cut by 30 kilometres.

Javier Guillén was asked about the heat before the route was raced, given a course that concentrates on eastern and southern Spain in late summer.

"The heat cannot prevent us from going to certain areas," the race director said in June. "It is part of the competition and we must adapt to these conditions." He added that protocols were in place for exceptional weather.