Beating the heat, pro-cycling style

Garmin-Sharp Soigneur with ice socks on top of Hogsback KOM, Tour of Utah Stage 1

With temperatures expected in the high 90’s Fahrenheit this week at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, talk focuses on the heat and how the riders adapt to it.

Chris Butler (UnitedHealthcare) answered questions about the heat after revealing what he enjoyed for breakfast, oatmeal and eggs. “When it gets hot like it will today it’s hard to eat later in the day, so you try to cram it in early,” Butler said. “We’ll be rotating a crew of three guys going back [to the car] for bottles during the day.”

One team’s press officer said one week in the heat doesn’t matter to the athletes. They’d be in for trouble if they raced in heat for three weeks – their stomachs would bother them because they’d drink so much, she said.

Joe Dombrowski (Bontrager-Livestrong) commented after the finish of Stage 1 in Ogden. In the hills on the course the temperature hovered around 92 and in Ogden it reached 97. Fox Sports reported 16% humidity. “It was hot. I think I drank 25 water bottles,” Dombrowski said. “We get ice socks in the mussettes and drape the socks around our necks. It’s funny when you open your jersey — all the socks fall out.”

The “socks” Dombrowki referred to are pantyhose stuffed with ice, as shown in the photo above of the Garmin-Sharp soigneur on top of one of Stage 1’s KOM’s.

By the time the race finishes on Sunday, the streets around Salt Lake City should be lined with pantyhose legs knotted at the ends.

Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Sharp) aiming for bottle draped with ice sock

Jacob Rathe (Garmin-Sharp) reaches for bottle with ice sock