Organisers of the Vuelta a Espana cycling race said they were shortening Sunday’s stage 15 route from Palma del Rio to Cordoba by around 80 kilometres because of extreme heat.
“Due to the high temperatures forecast for tomorrow, La Vuelta has modified the route of stage 15 following the activation of the extreme weather protocol,” organisers Unipublic said in a statement on Saturday.
The 15th stage was originally planned to be a 189.7km route, but it has been chopped down to 110.2km, with temperatures expected to reach as high as 39C in Cordoba.
Unipublic said that the decision was made “with the aim of protecting the health of the riders and ensuring the best possible conditions for the competition”.
The Vuelta’s decision to shorten Sunday’s stage comes after the Tour de France was forced to take a similar measure this summer because of extreme heat.
Tour organisers ASO — who own Unipublic — cut 30 kilometres from the ninth stage in July after authorities placed the Correze region on red alert for an “exceptionally intense heatwave”.
Temperatures had topped 35C for much of the race, with some stages reaching more than 40C.
It was the first time in the Tour’s history that a stage had been shortened because of heat.
Riders used ice vests, ice socks and cold drinks among other methods to try to keep their body temperatures down.
