Just weeks after June temperature records were broken all over Europe, the continent is bracing for its second heatwave of the summer, which is expected to kick in just as the Tour de France starts on Saturday. After a forecast high of 33ºC (91ºF) in Barcelona during the day, the temperature is not expected to drop beneath 27ºC (81ºF) until after the team time trial is over – and it’s only going to get worse from there.
The heatwave is currently expected to last deep into the first week of the Tour, leaving the teams, riders and organisers bracing for extreme conditions, which may even see the mercury rise above 40ºC (104ºF) around stage 4 from Carcassonne to Foix. Current forecasts – with the usual caveats as to the diminishing reliability the further ahead you look – suggest that the peloton can expect to endure daytime temperatures of at least 30ºC (86ºF) until the first rest day at the earliest, rarely dipping below 25ºC (77ºF) at night.
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