Cycling: Just a few days before the start of the Road World Championships in Doha (Qatar), an emergency plan by the UCI is making the rounds, according to which the route of the road race could be shortened to just 100km if the heat in the desert state is too great. The latest forecasts assume temperatures above 40°C.
A panel of four experts will closely monitor the weather situation in the coming days and decide for each race whether a cut is necessary to protect the health of the drivers and supervisors. Should one really come to the conclusion that the heat is not acceptable for the drivers, the races of the day will be shortened accordingly. Since most of the decisions are made on circuits, the total distance can be shortened by an individually defined number of laps.
The street race opportunity is a little more complicated. In the past few days, the UCI has worked out an alternative route that will replace the original route in the event of extreme heat. The "emergency route" is only 105km long - more than 100km shorter than the actual route. Should this really happen, it could throw many teams' race plans upside down.
But cut or not, the UCI will take special measures to support the drivers in the upcoming heat battle. Special motorcycles will be used, which will distribute water bottles in the peloton independently of the team vehicles. In addition, the teams are provided with a total of 10.000 water bottles and a large quantity of ice.
The World Cup will start next Sunday with the team time trial. The street race takes place a week later on October 16th.