Tour Down Under race director Stuart O’Grady has said race organisers will “keep a close eye” on the risk of potentially race-disrupting fires in the Adelaide Hills this weekend when temperatures are forecast to rise above 40°C.
Tuesday evening’s prologue opener went off without a hitch in Adelaide, with Samuel Watson scoring the victory and first ochre jersey of the race, though temperatures are expected to rise later in the week.
“There are different regulations and restrictions around heat and how that’s gauged – taking into consideration humidity and all those kinds of things. So obviously, if it’s a catastrophic fire danger, and we’re in through the Adelaide Hills, then the stage would be cancelled. But yeah, we’ll keep a close eye on it.”
The UCI’s Extreme Weather Protocol designates temperatures above 28°C on the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature scale as being in the high risk, red zone, where races can consider moving start and finish times, neutralising sections or cancelling stages.
Plouffe noted the number of January days over 41°C in…
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