RABOBANK TEAM KEEPS COOL ON HOT GIANT BIKES

During the Tour de France the Rabobank team is riding Giant road and TT bicycles, the fastest, most advanced bikes in the peloton. To help keep the team cool while riding these hot bikes, the squad is using new technology—and some tried and true tricks—to beat the heat.

Rabobank team doctor Dion Van Bommel has worked with the squad for seven years, and he knows exactly what to do to keep the riders from over-heating. “I weigh them, every evening,” Van Bommel says. “If they’ve even a kilo lighter than they were in the morning, I tell them to start drinking more water. Fortunately it was very hot in Holland before we left for the Tour, so the team could start acclimatizing straight away.”

Spectators who watched the Rabo boys warm up and cool down for the time trials have seen the racers wearing some special suits that appear to be hooked up to tubes. “This year we have brought some new skinsuits with us, and they cool down the body quickly,” reports Van Bommel. “The riders wear them after each stage. On top of that we have special helmets.”

Among other things the team does to help the riders stay cool: chilling their hotel rooms. “We put on the air conditioning up to the maximum in the hotels until just before they go in there, but switch it off when they come in. Otherwise they might get sick,” says the doctor. “So the room is always cold. Then obviously they drink cold, non-fizzy drinks and we give them lots of anti-oxidants and magnesium as well.”

According to Van Bommel, the human organism does gradually get used to extreme temperatures. But normally the process takes from a week to 10 days. That’s far too slow for the Tour de France, so they have to take emergency measures. “Our cooks make deliberately spicy food, so that the riders want to drink more, too,” Van Bommel reveals.

Van Bommel warns that dehydration can build up from one day to the next. But by weighing the riders and checking their urine, he can tell if there’s a problem. “I don’t do that all the time, though, because mostly the riders remember to drink. In a race like this one, on average they’ll drink about one liter an hour. Riders can come back for more bottles of water after 30 kilometers.

And, speaking of bottles, just how many is one rider able to carry for the rest of his team? Well, the record is held by a Spaniard, Jose Antonio Garrido, who managed to carry 22 in one trip from team car up to the bunch in the 2006 Tour of Italy.