Pogacar suggests radical Tour calendar rethink due to extreme heat

Riders in the peloton have called for earlier stage start times in the future due to the effects of climate change, while stage 9 on Sunday was cut by 30km due to a heatwave red alert in the Corrèze department. 

“In my opinion, it’s a big topic to discuss,” Pogačar said in his post-stage press conference in Ussel. “If I could have the power to change it all, I would change all the calendar. I would not race in July and August in the hot places and do a completely different calendar, but that’s something that you need to think through very well. It’s not something I can do, and maybe the next step will be to start earlier the stages.”

Pogačar was not entirely convinced, however, by proposals to move start times from the afternoon to mid-morning. He suggested that a more dramatic shift might be necessary to avoid the worst of the July heat.

“Yesterday there was one proposal that we could start at 10, but for me, starting at 10 it doesn’t change anything because then you finish with the big heat,” he said.

“For example, today when we arrived at the finish, it was way cooler than at the start. So then you need to start the stage at eight or nine or even earlier. That’s also a little bit shit, but I think the body can adapt to do that as well, that you wake up at five o’clock in the morning and do the stage at eight. 

“But I think I’ve said enough. In our team, we’ve managed pretty well with this heat. We did a super good job to cool down our systems and I’m pretty satisfied with how it went.”

Pogačar reaches the first rest day of the Tour with a lead of 2:42 over Jonas Vingegaard (Visma Lease a Bike) in the overall standings thanks to his crushing win at Gavarnie-Gèdre on stage 6. 

On Sunday, Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates worked to keep a tight rein on the winning break, but he indicated that they had not been riding in search of another stage win. Pogačar finished in 11th place on the day, six seconds behind winner Mathieu van der Poel.

“I will be honest, we didn’t plan to catch the breakaway, but we were riding a bit at Tim Wellens’ pace, and he was feeling good, obviously,” said Pogačar, who revealed that his team had agreed to help Filippo Ganna and Netcompany-Ineos chase down the escapees. 

“Then the other teams, after the hardest climbs, they had the ambition to win. And Pippo [Ganna] came to me and asked if there was any chance we could help a little bit with one rider. “I asked on the radio and they said, ‘Just don’t overdo it.’ We helped a little bit until more guys from Ineos and Lidl-Trek came. Then we didn’t need to commit too much and we could rest the legs in the last 50k.”