So today I found out what riding in a Sauna would be like. I was right yesterday, Stage 1 of Tour Down Under was a hot day, and the hottest race I've ever ridden. It was just a challenge keeping cool, and making sure we drank enough. The team always tries to be over prepared, but we even managed to run out of bidons, luckily only 5km from the feed, were we got a fresh cooler full for the car.
To make things worse it was a headwind for pretty much the whole day, so it meant we were out soaking up the heat for longer, with everybody's jerseys starting to look similar by the end, covered in salt. I even managed to catch the sun through my jersey, which was a first for me.
It did cool off towards the end, maybe just a bit closer to 30 degrees than 40, but it had obviously taken its toll on all of us. Even some of the Aussie guys who have been enjoying their summer over here said they weren't finding it easy in the heat. It's not normal with 10km to go for it not to be pretty full on like it was today.
The teams chances were ruined today when a crash happened just inside the 1km to go banner. Hoping the riders and spectators involved are all OK.
Afterwards it was a nice two hour drive back to the hotel, falling asleep a long the way, then a massage before dinner.
Which hasn't left me much time before I will be going to sleep. Then it will start all over again for stage 2 of 148km from Lobethal to Stirling, where another sprint finish should be on the cards.
-Andy Fenn