Hotel horror on rest day for Tour de France riders - Uno-X duo forced to sleep outside after being given bug-infested room
CyclingTuesday, 14 July 2026 at 11:28
The Tour de France rest day affords the peloton with a timely opportunity to relax, put the feet up and enjoy some refreshing air conditioning and comfortable beds amid a sweltering heatwave during the first week.
But for Uno-X Mobility brothers Anders and Tobias Halland Johannessen, their rest day hotel relaxation turned into horror as they took to social media to show their fellow 'guests'.
The pair found their room crawling with bugs and spider webs as they made a key decision to get a good night's sleep in peace. Despite soaring temperatures and the luxury of air conditioning, the pair opted to sleep outside and moved their beds outside onto their terrace.
The ordeal has led to online criticism of the Tour organisers ASO. Teams are required to stay at the hotels organised by the race and are not allowed to privately provide accommodation for their riders and staff.
Logés dans un hôtel vraisemblablement insalubre, Anders Halland Johannessen & Tobias Halland Johannessen ont installé leurs lits sur le balcon ! 😲 https://t.co/67lJINBAIy pic.twitter.com/zhoTygBSI8
— Cycling Legend (@CyclingLegend_) July 13, 2026
Tour de France organisers provide teams with accommodation
ASO reportedly book 40,000 rooms every year for La Grand Boucle and rotate the quality of the accommodation provided throughout the race to ensure each team gets a fair share.
Meanwhile, Tadej Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates – XRG reportedly dealt with the effects away from the road as well.
According to Spanish journalist Sergi Lopez-Egea, UAE are staying in a hotel where the air-conditioning system has struggled to cope with the extreme temperatures. When several rooms attempt to use the system at the same time, the electrical installation reportedly trips and causes power cuts.
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It is an awkward problem for the dominant team of the opening week, particularly with the Tour moving into its second block of racing and temperatures having climbed well beyond 35 degrees on several stages.
Pogacar and his teammates were pictured heading out for a training ride on Monday’s first rest day, while the hotel situation added an unexpected complication to an otherwise commanding start to the race.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- I'll never not be convinced that UAE aren't on something...
leedorney14-07-2026 - 😁leedorney14-07-2026
- Thanks Thomas may i suggest you tell other teams how to ride or perhaps give the special stuff to help that you used to be in the peleton may make them go faster or give them Dutch courage 🤣🤣🤣paultryan200214-07-2026
- Well, if you look at past winners, the percentage is pretty shocking and from having learnt about human nature, I’d find it VERY hard to believe suddenly everyone (especially people wanting/needing money) has lost interest in discovering new enhancement products and selling them. Now, apart from suspicion, what else happened each time in the past when something undetectable was introduced? Exactly, nothing.Jumpyjohn14-07-2026
- Pretty good points Some more, 90% of the sport watching population has their main vacation time around July/August, it is why almost ALL major sports events (except ice/snow dependant obviously) have been, are, want and will be programmed then. Hardly anyone will take time to follow a Tour around during work time and if the stages take place during work hours, no media is going to pay top dollar for the privilege of live coverage. Now, if somebody would like to remind the likes of Tadej and the Union spokesperson that it’s likely their demands would lead to quite a drastic reduction in rider salaries, I’m not so sure they’ll stay as vocal with their « solutions ». I’m still ride in these temps (it’s actually more refreshing than sitting around outside), alone and without getting paid and certainly no slower than during normal temps (in fact, some days it feels like it’s easier to be fast in these temps) or having serious goals, the hard part is the first couple of days but you quickly get used to it and as long as you adapt hydration and avoid consuming anything nefarious, nothing happens. We’re going to get to the point of telling pro swimmers to stop in heatwaves because there’s an increase in drownings. Speaking of cooling down methods, maybe some of these are as dangerous as the heat itself. Many people drown from the reactions we have to thermal shock, jumping into cold water after being hot. Yet what are teams doing with ice packs and cryobaths? Maybe, again, it’s all about how resilient and experienced individuals are, no scandinavian would worry about sauna/ice bath consequences, but that doesn’t mean everyone should copy them without some initiation? Same with pros, no point to consider their fragilities similarly to the general population.Jumpyjohn14-07-2026
- Dear UAE Please stop being better than everyone else....... doubt this would be an issue if it were a Dutch, Belgian, French or Italian team.. old cycling just can't stand the newslappers6614-07-2026
- Yeah, but I've heard cycling fans say, if Pogi was in team Visma, he would already be a 6X Tour winner, this year he would be "fighting" for his 7th Tour. What do you think about that?mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales14-07-2026
- The 'problem' (for lack of a better word) is the grand tours are all in Europe, so if you shift the TDF, then the Giro or Vuelta (depending on which way they shift the calendar) will then have to be held in the heat. There are also many other races, so the calendar is quite packed and there's not much room to shift. I think it's just something they have to put up with unfortunately. Us cyclists are tough and ride in most weather conditions and the pros are even tougher, so I think this is just more of a "discussion point of the day" and we'll all move on tomorrow to discuss something else haha (24hr news cycle etc).Pogboom14-07-2026
- Can i get an amen up here. We certainly do have a Pogi 1.0 and a Pogi 2.0.
Andrew14-07-2026 - You watch too many moviesAndrew14-07-2026
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