“We need to be careful” – Tadej Pogacar warns of heat dangers as Tour de France cuts Stage 9 by 30km amid red heatwave alert
CyclingSaturday, 11 July 2026 at 19:10
Tadej Pogacar has warned that the extreme heat is tiring the Tour de France peloton even during its easier stages, with constant cooling, hydration and nutrition required to limit the damage.
The yellow jersey spoke after safely completing Stage 8 in Bergerac. Shortly afterwards, the Tour cut 30 kilometres from Sunday’s stage between Malemort and Ussel after Correze was placed under a red heatwave alert.
Pogacar feeling cumulative effects of Tour heatwave
Stage 8 contained little climbing and was controlled towards a bunch sprint eventually won by Tim Merlier. Temperatures again exceeded 30°C, continuing an opening week in which the peloton has repeatedly relied on ice, water and additional cooling measures.
“Just like every day: a lot of water and continuing to cool the body down,” Pogacar explained during his post-stage flash interview. “You just have to pass the time on the bike in this heat.”
Conditions have tested the peloton since the Grand Depart in Barcelona. Tom Pidcock was left “cooked” by Stage 3 to Les Angles, while temperatures exceeded 40°C during the following day’s 181.9-kilometre route from Carcassonne to Foix.
Additional water points were introduced and feeding regulations relaxed on Stage 4. Stage 6 over the Col du Tourmalet then entered the red zone of the UCI’s Extreme Weather Protocol.
“The heat does have an impact, yes,” Pogacar continued. “I think anybody who is outside can tell that the body gets tired in the heat. Even if it is an easier day, we still need to be careful, continue cooling down and take care of our nutrition, hydration and everything else.”
Red alert forces first Tour route change
Meteo-France escalated its warning for Correze to red as exceptionally intense temperatures continued across the region. Organisers responded by reducing Stage 9 from 185.5 to 155.5 kilometres.
The race will leave its original route during the neutralised section and travel directly from Brive-la-Gaillarde towards Lanteuil, removing the opening 30 kilometres. The start is scheduled for 1.45pm and the finish for approximately 5.30pm.
Pogacar had already anticipated a more demanding day after the two successive sprint stages to Bordeaux and Bergerac. “We will see what happens tomorrow,” he said. “It will definitely be a tough day for us, but we are ready.”
Pogacar will defend a 2:42 advantage over Jonas Vingegaard on the revised 155.5-kilometre route to Ussel.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- It has been mentioned that Jonas looked like he tried to get on the wheels of Pogi and IDT and just couldn't do it. I rewatched where they attacked and for a sec Jonas attempted (sure looked it) to jump to the wheels...and after 2 cranks knew he cracked and couldn't catch them. After that he looked broken and used up. Either he is sick or Pogi and IDT are just better than him. Watch his face after they start gaining time and the Pogi takes off from IDT. I would say Jonas looked like a broken man racing for 2nd at best. And I think a few other riders could be better than he is at this TDF. Lipowitz, IDT, Sexis (maybe) as well as a few othersmd197511-07-2026
- Let me correct this for you. No lone rider except Pogi would have stayed out front like that. Why do I say that? Because Pogi has literally been in a situation where a team was trying to chase him down and they couldn't. Reality is that he is really that good.md197511-07-2026
- Yes, it gets hotter as the afternoon progresses. Which is why it's unfortunate that the stage will be starting later than scheduled, wasting the less-hot part of the afternoon.Hills3311-07-2026
- Then do like most spectators at amateur races, just hang around at the finish.Jumpyjohn11-07-2026
- Correze has a refreshing 17 predicted for the night and a max of 37, same as a lot of places have been for a while and way below the last heatwave a few weeks ago. It took temps over 40 in the north for several days before the government forbade all sport outside air conditioned places. The thresholds are changing due to the political dangers of excess deaths but as with some ridiculous covid stats, few are willing to analyse rationally. Deaths by drowning have little to do with whether a temperature exceded a certain threshold, just like Covid didn’t kill you in a traffic accidentMistermaumau11-07-2026
- Actually, these days the hottest part of the day in France has been more like 4-6pm. 1pm is nowhere near the hottest part of the day. Also, this yellow/ orange/red classification by department is a lot more complex and refined than most imagine and not always directly related to max or wet bulb temp. It takes into consideration local averages because populations in different parts of the country are used to different maxima (visitor tolerances are therefore not considered), urbanisation, building quality and a whole range of factors to estimate the local general population’s risk. It is not all that useful to judge rider risk.Mistermaumau11-07-2026
- Slashed by 30km? More like timidly trimmed. The riders will still be out there during the hottest hours, from 2 to 5 pm.Hills3311-07-2026
- Perfectly put. Most of the criticism of sprint stages comes from people who find the GC the only interesting thing. Then any stage without GC action, like stage 4, is boring. It's a testament to Pogačar's greatness that he makes mountain stages much more boring than sprints. But then, Froome did that too. And Vingegaard does too. And Contador. And Merckx...
Rafionain-Glas11-07-2026 - lance armstrong calling out someone’s behavior - crazy. there is no bigger poor sport bad teammate in the history of the sport.mij11-07-2026
- I find it boring to watch guys sitting in for 100K just to sprint the last 200 meters, lol. To each his own
ScottG11-07-2026
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