'It's simply becoming dangerous': Vuelta peloton pushed to the limit as heat crisis intensifies

Sander De Pestel (Decathlon CMA CGM) was one of many riders who raised concerns that the Vuelta a España was reaching a dangerous point because of the extreme heat, before the race organisers made the decision to shorten stage 15 by 79.5 km, with temperatures forecast to reach 40 °C in the finish town of Córdoba. 

“It’s insane,” De Pestel told Sporza ahead of Saturday’s stage 14. “Because now we’re just hoping that no accidents happen.”

The Belgian’s comments came after high temperatures during recent stages have raised concerns about the safety and welfare of the peloton, with De Pestel explaining that “riders were once again taken to hospital with heatstroke.”

"We’re battling the heat more than the competition or the course. It’s a shame it’s come to this,” he stated. 

“At the start, it wasn’t too bad. It was humid, but we’re used to that. The last two hours, on the other hand… Every descent we took felt like we were riding into a whole new kind of sauna. It was absolutely mad.”

De Pestel also explained how staying hydrated during the recent stages has been a difficulty, and the impact of not having enough water on board. 

"I’d run out of two water bottles at the top of the first climb. After an hour and a half, I started to feel a bit wobbly too. So I went to the car to pour two cold bottles over my head and drink one of them."

"After that, thankfully, things went better, but it really was right on the limit."

The Belgian had expressed his hope that action would be taken ahead of stage 15. 

“They’re forecasting 40 degrees and blazing sunshine,” he said. “It’s simply becoming dangerous. And you could say that we, as riders, need to prepare for that, but we’re all doing heat training and yet the images speak for themselves.”

De Pestel was far from the only rider to voice his concerns, with Hugo Houle (Alpecin-Premier Tech) speaking to the Vuelta organisation in his role as rider representative. Stage 14 was ultimately not altered in terms of the route, but feeding rules were adapted to prioritise rider hydration. 

However, by Saturday evening, the race organisation had confirmed that stage 15 from Palma del Río to Córdoba had been shortened from 189.7km to 110.2km, with the neutralised start being delayed until 2:50 pm local time.