Dripping in sweat on my local climb, I went in search of cooling strategies to make the heat more bearable

Soaring temperatures are adding an extra challenge to our cycling - nutritionist and author Anita Bean explores how can you mitigate the effects, stay cool and keep pressing hard on the pedals

Anita Bean cycling up Box hill in the heat
(Image credit: Future)

Only halfway up Box Hill (Surrey, UK) and my heart rate is already through the roof. I’m dripping with sweat, struggling to maintain power and my legs feel like jelly. This familiar climb, usually hard but enjoyable, suddenly feels horribly gruelling – and the reason is, it’s 26ºC in the shade. If this is what it feels like climbing a Surrey hill in a British heatwave, how do riders in the Tour de France cope in the mountains where temperatures exceed 40ºC with 80% humidity? 

To be able to climb heroically in the heat, you need to be efficient at shedding heat and replacing lost water – but how exactly? Could I get better at coping in the heat so that, in future summers, the Surrey Hills might feel less like Death Valley? To find out, I decided to investigate how the pros prepare for racing in the heat. 

Anita Bean author image
Anita Bean

Anita Bean is an award-winning registered nutritionist, internationally published author, health writer and former British bodybuilding champion. She specialises in sport and exercise nutrition and is the author of The Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition and The Vegan Athlete’s Cookbook.

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