In July, spotting a men’s WorldTour cycling team buying bulk packs of women’s tights in a French supermarket might raise eyebrows, but it’s part of a well-drilled routine. The tights are cut, knotted, and filled with ice to become simple but effective ice socks, handed to riders throughout the day to help fight the oppressive summer heat of the Tour de France.
This kind of low-tech hack is central to an increasingly refined heat-management strategy that all teams now rely on. With temperatures often pushing 40°C in modern editions of the race, staying cool has become just as important as staying fuelled or hydrated. The preparation begins before sunrise and doesn’t really stop until bedtime.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Billy CeustersWhat the teams say about cooling
Dan Guillemette, head physiotherapist at Jayco AlUla, is one of many team staff tasked with racing ahead of the peloton to set up for the day. Once temperatures hit 26°C, they activate a complete cooling plan. That starts at the hotel, where riders are offered ice slushies and cold gels, often containing around 30 grams of carbohydrate, even before breakfast. Some strap ice cubes under tennis wristbands, others wear cold, wet towels draped around their necks before the start. The effectiveness of some of these measures may be more psychological than physiological, but teams are happy to use anything that offers perceived relief.
Once the riders roll out, the main challenge becomes access. While team cars are loaded with ice vests, frozen drinks, and cold packs stored in portable freezers, the aggressive racing so far in the 2025 Tour has often left riders unable to safely drop back to the convoy. Instead, soigneurs in parked-up lay-bys and farm entrances are more important than ever. They hand out bidons, musettes and, increasingly, those tights filled with ice that get jammed down the back of jerseys or into gloves.
Jayco AlUla staff were seen working from car boots, stuffing tights with ice cubes beside coolers and handing them off like bidons. At one feed zone, soigneurs were also helping other teams find parking spaces in the crowded countryside, such is the demand for roadside hand-up points on scorching days.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Billy CeustersWhat are the key areas to keep cool?
For key cooling zones, teams target the neck, feet and hands, all rich in blood vessels and known to help with thermal regulation. Some set up buckets filled with water chilled to between 12 and 14°C. Riders dunk their hands up to the wrists for five to eight minutes. It’s not fancy, just cold water and a plastic bucket, but it works.
The same technique is sometimes repeated before sleep, especially on nights following hot stages. Riders might cool their wrists again in their hotel rooms, trying to bring core temperatures down before bed. The process is simple but essential to limiting heat stress over a three-week race.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Tony EsnaultPlans for cooling during the stages
During racing, the feed zones spaced roughly every 40km become more vital than ever. Every categorised climb allows for additional feed opportunities, and teams take full advantage. Without time to reach the car, many riders now rely on these fixed points for fresh cold drinks or a new ice sock.
On stage 9, Tim Merlier said he had felt overheated in the final 80km, missing chances to take on fluids from the team car because the racing had been too intense. With breakaways forming quickly and sprint teams controlling tempo tightly, the windows to collect cooling aids mid-race are fewer than they used to be.
Post-stage recovery is just as focused on lowering body temperature. Riders at Bahrain Victorious have been spotted walking from the team bus to nearby ice vans, plunging into cold baths in their team dressing gowns. Others use cold compression sleeves that apply both pressure and chilled water to the legs, helping with recovery and muscle soreness. These can be used on the bus transfer back to the hotel to make the most of every available minute.
If the forecast remains as it is, the next day starts the same way. Tights are pulled from plastic sleeves, buckets are filled again, and slushies are stacked in coolers. The battle to stay cool isn’t glamorous, but it’s constant, and for the 170-plus riders still in the race, it could make all the difference.
