As Adelaide prepares to host the cycling world for the Tour Down Under, a sense of shame creeps in.
Imagine pedaling furiously, your heart pounding, yet your legs feel like lead. The bike computer reveals a heart rate soaring past 150bpm, and you realize it's only been five minutes. You're in a heat chamber, a sterile white room with condensation-covered windows, sweating profusely despite the freezing outdoor temperature.
This is the new normal for many professional cyclists. Heat training, once a niche practice, has become essential, especially with rising global temperatures. The science is clear: intense exercise in extreme heat can be detrimental to the body, and the climate crisis is only making it worse.
The Tour Down Under, a prestigious cycling event in South Australia, has seen a significant increase in extremely hot days since its inception in 1999. The number of January days over 41°C in Adelaide has almost tripled compared to the previous 26-year period.
As a local cyclist and two-time Olympian, Maeve Plouffe, feels a mix of pride and shame. She loves showcasing her hometown to the world, but the extreme heat is a constant reminder of the climate crisis.
"It's like hosting friends in a burning house," she says. "We tell them to ignore the fire and focus on the spectacle. But we know the truth."
Maeve recalls her first Tour Down Under in 2018, where a European rider, dazed from the heat, drifted off the road into a ditch. Heat can affect a cyclist's senses and reaction time, which can be the difference between winning and crashing.
In 2021, while racing in Victoria Park, plumes of smoke rose from the hills due to wildfires. The race continued, but the sight of her home burning in the background left her with a strange feeling of unease and worry for her friends and training grounds.
Cycling governing bodies are starting to take notice, implementing extreme heat protocols and safety policies. However, strict heat cutoffs could result in the cancellation of entire race stages, putting the future of the Tour Down Under at risk.
The impact of extreme conditions extends beyond the competitors. Cycling tourism brings people to the regions, supporting local businesses. But it's these regions that are hit the hardest by the climate crisis.
While athletes are educated about the dangers of extreme heat, the focus should also be on addressing the root cause. The South Australian government, through its platform of major sporting events, has the power to influence sponsors and spectators to make choices that protect the state's future.
A step in the right direction would be to replace the fossil fuel sponsorship of the Tour Down Under. It's a contradiction to promote health and human performance while supporting industries that undermine our future.
In the heat chamber, preparing for a hotter world, Maeve reflects on the irony. The most coordinated response to climate change in sport is to train athletes to survive it, rather than addressing the cause.
"We're sweating in a controlled box to prepare for an uncontrolled future," she says.
And this is the part most people miss: the real solution lies beyond the sports field.
