With temperatures above 30 degrees, it will be chugging and sweating again for the sports enthusiasts among us this weekend. The cycling platoon will also suffer in the Strade Bianche on Saturday under the burning Italian sun. “The best preparation method is ‘heat exposure’,” says sports physician Ruud Van Thienen.
Not only will the mercury take off this weekend, but it is also very hot in Tuscany – where the Strade Bianche takes place on Saturday. The riders will finish the first major cycling classic after the corona break in temperatures that will easily rise above 30 ° C.
We asked sports doctor Ruud Van Thienen what the impact of sports in such a heat is and how riders are best prepared for an effort under the burning sun.
“Training in the heat is necessary to adjust body to heat”
“Temperatures of more than 30 degrees, which causes problems for several riders anyway”, Van Thienen opens. “Much depends on how well the riders have prepared.”
“Especially training in warm weather conditions is a good preparation method. In an ideal world, 14 days is enough to prepare for such temperatures.”
“That is the time it takes your body to produce more plasma volume in the blood and start sweating more. But your sweat will also dilute. As a result, there will be more fluid loss but less salt loss. So the best method is’ heat exposure “: train in the heat.”
The heat will make it a dusty edition of the Strade Bianche again.
Advance of the sauna sessions: “Natural way to do plasma expanding”
Another method of doing heat training is taking sauna sessions. “This method is increasingly popular nowadays,” says Van Thienen. “Sauna sessions can therefore increase resistance to heat.”
“During a sauna session, the rider finishes his regular training and then sits in the sauna for half an hour, with the intention of dehydrated in a controlled manner.”
“If the rider then absorbs enough water, salt and sugar, a kind of supercompensation effect is activated in the body and the body will prepare better for such moisture and salt losses in the following days.”
“It is a natural way of meeting plasma-expanding to do. The plasma volume in the blood increases, so that the blood can absorb more oxygen. “
We may also see these kinds of images on Saturday.
Such a sauna therapy is not only used in the preparation for a race in warm conditions. It also has its advantages in cold conditions.
“As the blood volume increases, the flow of your heart also increases, which means that you can absorb more oxygen. If done correctly, you will experience the benefits of such heat therapy in all circumstances.”
“Of course it still differs from rider to rider. A rider who is very poor at the heat may not be able to withstand the heat after heat training. That is an improvement, but still bad. The genetic baggage plays an important role there in.”
“Get the ideal composition of water, salt and sugar during the competition”
What must a rider do to protect himself against the heat during the race? “Obviously, a rider should primarily drink in order to maintain the fluid level.”
“You also have to make sure that you get the ideal composition of thirst quenchers: not only water but also sugar and salt are important. That can be determined perfectly individually by means of tests.”
“Because of the somewhat unusual circumstances, I don’t think that many riders did such tests in the run-up to the Strade Bianche. Although the teams still have the test data from the past.”
“If I have to name a rider who sweats a lot? I think of Tiesj Benoot in the first place. I cannot immediately name a rider who does not sweat a lot. It is simple: someone who is well trained, who just sweats a lot. “
