Tour de France braced for historic stage cancellations amid 44C European heatwave

[muriel_volestrangler]

The 2026 Tour de France, which starts in Barcelona on Saturday, is steeling itself for climate change disruption with another extreme heatwave predicted to return to Europe in the coming days which could see stages cancelled.

“It’s something that’s very much on our mind,” said Thierry Gouvenou, the Tour’s technical director. “It’s not the first time we have faced this, but this time it’s worse because of what we have already experienced in May and June.”
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The possibility of that happening during this year’s race has become real after temperatures as high as 44C were again predicted for some regions in France and Spain.

The next spell of extreme hot weather could impact the peloton as soon as Sunday, when the Tour’s second stage, over 168 undulating kilometres, follows the Mediterranean coast, from Tarragona to Barcelona.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jul/02/tour-de-france-historic-stage-cancellations-44c-european-heatwave-cycling

[House of Roberts]

1. So, I guess moving the entire event to a cooler month is out of the question?

I mean really?

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Well, they can think about this in the future

But as the article says, this is an international logistical exercise, with road closures, tens of thousands of police officers and other supporting workers, and a centrepiece of French sport, that fits into an international calendar (having a race on Bastille Day is part of their culture).