In this Spotlight, the team discuss exercise in the heat, using the challenging conditions and travails of Mark Cavendish and others in the Tour de France's first two stages as the catalyst. We explore why athletes 'fail' in the heat, and how the brain pulls a physiological ripcord to protect us when we either don't pace ourselves appropriately, or can't lose the heat we need to in order to avoid critical hyperthermia. We also briefly assess the state of the Tour's yellow jersey battle, where the first shots were landed by Pogacar on the Galibier in yesterday's Stage 4. But will they be decisive, and how likely is Vingegaard to bounce back and improve as the race progresses?
Show notes
Become a Patron and join the Discourse community
Some papers on heat stroke and limiting hyperthermia
Tour de France insights
The Olympic Sport bracket that Gareth mentioned on the show - will road cycling bounce back and beat the marathon in the popularity stakes?
","author_name":"Professor Ross Tucker and Mike Finch"}