Behind the scenes at the Vuelta a España: how teams handle the heat and rain

Teams and riders recruited a range of tech to combat the heat and storms over the opening stages

12:31, Friday 1st September 2023

Tom Hallam-Gravells

Online Production Editor

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Dries Van Gestel takes an ice bath after stage 4

At 3,153.8km with seven mountain stages, the 2023 Vuelta a España is a brutal test. As if it wasn’t already tough enough, challenging weather was added to the mix over the opening stages. What started out as soaring temperatures soon descended into lightning storms and a deluge of rain.

The rain was so extreme on the second day that general classification times were taken 9km from the finish for rider safety, eliminating a potentially sketchy finale, except for those chasing the stage win.

Extreme weather like this is nothing new for teams who are prepared for virtually every scenario. While behind the scenes at the race, GCN captured some of the measures teams took to deal with the heat and rain.

Combating the heat…

...with fans

Despite the deluge of rain over the first two stages, one of the biggest problems for the riders on the opening day was the heat.

Temperatures soared into the mid-30s (degrees celsius) in Barcelona prior to the stage while many riders were warming up for the team time trial - and it remained humid after stormy weather enveloped the city. They're relatively tame temperatures compared to what the Spanish Grand Tour can serve up, but it was still uncomfortable for the riders who had to go through a more rigorous warm-up than they would for a regular road stage, ensuring their bodies were prepared for the short and intense effort against the clock.

Intense warm-ups result in overheating cyclists. To keep their steeds cool, most teams relied on fans, with a lot of teams using Wahoo and Elite models.

Remco Evenepoel warms up for stage 1 of the Vuelta a Espana

A fan helped Remco Evenepoel keep cool as he warmed up for stage 1

Jumbo-Visma are arguably the biggest team in the WorldTour at the moment, and they went for a noticeably large fan to match their hefty status. Fan size clearly doesn’t correlate to performance as the Dutch outfit surprisingly struggled in the time trial, finishing outside the top 10 and 26 seconds behind Remco Evenepoel and his Soudal Quick-Step team.

Jumbo-Visma's large fans

…with cooling vests

Cooling vests, also known as ice vests, have been around for a while. They can vary slightly, but most have compartments which house cooling packs. They’re used by athletes across multiple sports, but they seemed to become more prominent than ever before in cycling at this year’s Tour de France. That impression may be partly skewed by eventual winner Jonas Vingegaard who was regularly seen on television wearing one.

Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič wearing cooling vests while they warm up ahead of stage 1

Cooling vests were a regular sight once again on the opening day of the Vuelta a España, and by our estimations, nearly every team is using them. That included Vingegaard and his Jumbo-Visma teammates during their turbo trainer warm ups.

Temperatures in Spain are expected to be relatively mild for the remainder of the race, so cooling vests probably won’t get as much use as they did at the Tour de France, which incredibly breached the 40°C barrier.

…with ice packs

Sometimes a cooling vest simply isn’t enough, so some riders placed ice packs down the back of their necks. These are often used during stages too; a quick and easy way to lower core temperature and get some welcome relief from the heat.

While warming up for the stage 1 time trial, Jumbo-Visma’s Primož Roglič recruited a team member to apply an ice pack.

Primož Roglič uses an ice pack ahead of stage 1

…with ice baths

Fast forward to stage 4 and soaring temperatures had returned, replacing the rain - although not for long if forecasts for the remainder of the race are to be believed.

Most riders didn’t hang around after crossing the finish line, making a beeline for their buses. Riders of TotalEnergies and Soudal Quick-Step were welcomed by the sight of ice baths. These have performance benefits, reducing any inflammation and having an analgesic effect, soothing muscle soreness. As an added bonus, they're a welcome relief from heat.

Soudal Quick-Step had ice baths prepared for its riders at the finish of stage 4

Of course, you don’t need a fancy ice bath; a simple paddling pool can do the job, like this one we spotted behind Lidl-Trek’s team bus before stage 1. We can’t be certain that riders were taking a dip in it, but what else would the team need it for?

A paddling pool behind Lidl-Trek's team bus

…with hydration

It’s easy to take water for granted, but it provides a huge logistical challenge at Grand Tours. The water at most hotels in Spain is drinkable, but the chemical composition of it will vary to what riders are used to (unless they live in the region), which can lead to stomach issues. That means carrying a water supply around Spain, and that’s a lot of water. Here’s a glimpse of the water bottles stored at the bottom of UAE Team Emirates’ mechanic’s van…

UAE Team Emirates water supply for the Vuelta a Espana

UAE Team Emirates had a large supply of water stored inside its mechanic's truck

All of that water needs to be distributed, and soigneurs spend time at the team hotel before each stage filling bottles and adding any hydration or energy supplements, which is also a logistical challenge in itself. While riders can top up their water bottles from the team car, soigneurs hand them out on the side of the road too, which requires careful planning.

A UAE Team Emirates team member fills water bottles ahead of stage 4

…with shade

While it’s not possible during the stage, riders sought out any shade they could before things got underway on stage 1. Team buses usually have in-built awning which can be pulled out to provide welcome relief from any stinging rays, and most teams place their turbo trainers underneath these.

Others like Jumbo-Visma and Ineos Grenadiers used gazebos.

Combating the rain…

Bad weather is often a theme of the Giro d’Italia in the mountains, and even occasionally the Tour de France. It’s rare that it impacts the Vuelta, except from extreme heat. Anyone expecting a sunny jaunt around Spain got a nasty surprise on stage 2 when relentless rain set in.

The storms brought gloomy conditions, and day almost turned to night

The awning that provided shade from the heat proved to be invaluable once again, although the downpours were so intense that water started pooling on top.

Sometimes the simple solutions are the best, and it was nothing a prodding broomstick couldn’t solve.

An Astana Qazaqstan team member clears water from the bus' awning

Many of the riders cut gloomy figures as they made their way to the start line, although there was some last-minute respite thanks to the umbrellas scattered along the barriers.

That was only a temporary reprieve, though, and once the action was underway, the riders had to depend on rain coats - not something they would have expected in a usually roasting Catalunya.