The Cyclists Guide to Riding In The Heat

Most cyclists understand at least two things about hot weather: it’s inevitable and it’ll also slow you down.

In simple terms, if you don’t prepare for heat on a ride, your performance will suffer with research pointing toward declines of at least 3-6% [1,2].

Said another way. If you all you do is ride in cooler temperatures, don’t expect to ever be near your best if a planned ride will be held under hot conditions.

Before we jump into the details of how to ride better in the heat, here’s a short outline of what we’ll cover in this guide:

1. Brief explanation for why heat impacts cycling performance.
2. Highlight the two primary variables you can control when it comes to hot weather riding.
3. Tips for how to create your own heat strategy based on available tools.
4. Quick review sheet to simplify the basics of riding well in the heat.

1. The Why

So why does heat steal so many watts?  Even before core temperature reaches the upper threshold for fatigue [3], the body sends messages to your legs to work less to reduce heat production. 

Your body’s anticipatory response to higher ambient temperatures may preserve your life but will likely reduce your power output in the process [4]. Said another way, when it’s hot outside, your body will limit the ammount of additional heat you can produce through pedaling.

2. The Two Variables

Thankfully, you have the ability to reduce this thermal throttling by utilizing two primary variables: heat acclimation (HA) and various cooling strategies. Since HA is your most powerful lever for cycling well in the heat, we’ll start there.

1: Heat Acclimatization

If you live and regularly ride in hot weather, you’ll have an advantage in that acclimating to heat will occur naturally over the course of a season. Even if you ride regularly in hot weather, committing to a HA strategy still offers an advantage [26].

If you generally avoid the heat or live year-round in cooler temperatures, utilizing some HA strategy is an absolute necessity.

In short, riding near your best in hot conditions will require that you plan ahead and execute an HA strategy along with your other training priorities.

Before we go further – obviously remaining safe is the most important objective no matter what HA strategy you might try.  If you feel dizzy, light-headed, or in any other way “not normal” during a HA session, pull the plug and cool off.

Like all training methods, HA takes time.  Research points toward the need for 8-14 consecutive days of heat exposure to realize the full benefits of HA [1].

If you don’t have two full weeks to dedicate to HA don’t despair, even five days of consecutive exposure can improve your ability to ride in the heat [5].  Can’t piece together back-to-back days?  Try nailing a total of 10 sessions spread out over a month (every third day) [6].

Now that we’ve got the timing down, what does HA actually look like? 

For most cyclists in most scenarios, the best form of heat training is riding indoors without a fan. Here are a few examples of how that would look in practice using the time guidelines earlier mentioned.

In Practice

1. 10 consecutive days of 90-minute hot rides indoors at a low (approximately zone 2) intensity.
2. 7 consecutive days of 30-minute rides at a moderate intensity (approximately zone 3) intensity.
3. 1, 30-minute ride every 3 days spread over a month at a moderate intensity (approximately zone 3).

I mention the strategy of hot rides indoors simply because it’s the most practical for most cyclists, but you can also look at the table below to examine how other HA strategies have been used to improve performance in the heat.

Which strategy should you choose?  Generally the hotter, more consecutive, and more specific to the bike, the better.  Just remember, your HA doesn’t have to be perfect or “by the book” to be effective.  Mix and match strategies and test them on yourself.

The key to an effective HA strategy is to create a thermal impulse strong enough to elicit adaptations [14].   As our table above shows, this can happen through various methods.

Heat Training Strategies

	Research Highlight	Results
low intensity/longer	Cyclists did 10 consecutive days of 90m rides at 50% VO2max in hot conditions (40°C/104°F) [7].	Increased VO2max by 8%, improved TT performance by 8%, increased power at LT by 5%.
moderate intensity/shorter	Runners did 7 consecutive days of ≈33m runs at 75% VO2max in hot conditions (40°C/104°F) [8].	HR and core temp reduced after acclimation periods demonstrating positive adaptations to heat stress.
hot bath	Runners did 6 consecutive days of 40m treadmill runs (18°C/64°F) at 65% VO2max followed immediately by 40m bath with water maintained at 40°C/104°F [9].	Core and skin temp reduced.  Skin temp at sweating onset lower.  RPE lower.  Improved TT performance.
sauna	Runners did ≈55m runs followed immediately by sitting in a humid sauna (≈90°C/194°F) for ≈33m.  12 sauna sessions spread over 3 weeks.  [10].	Blood volume increased by 5.6%, endurance performance improved by 2%.
hot yoga	Field hockey players did 6 consecutive days of 60m hot yoga (30°C/86°F) sessions with permissive dehydration (no drinking during session) [11].	Small improvements in running speed at submax intensities.
overdressing	Triathletes did  2 weeks of mixed endurance training (rides and runs) around RPE 3-7, in ≈18°C/ 64°F temps while wearing winter clothing  [12,13].	Dressing in additional clothing while riding does increase physiological strain but heat acclimation was not achieved and performance was not improved.

2: Pre and Mid-Cooling Strategies

So you’ve nailed down your best HA strategy; what about utilizing cooling strategies before and during a race?  Before you check out the table below, here are four strategies to bookmark for your next hot event:

1. Make sure you begin your ride fully hydrated. We have detailed instructions for dialing in your hydration at this link.
2. Focus on staying as cool as possible before your event. You can accomplish this by shortening your warmup, staying in the shade as long as possible, or even using ice to “pre-cool” your body before your race.
3. Whenever you can, take the opportunity to dump water on your head and upper body. This helps to supercharge evaporative cooling through your skin.
4. Take every opportunity to drink icy/chilled beverages during your ride. This acts as a heat sink to decrease your core temperature from within.

For a detailed look at several “pre” and “mid” cooling strategies, check out the table below.

Cooling Strategies

	Research Highlight	Results
pre-cooling/cold water immersion	Cyclists were immersed in cool (25°C/77°F) water up to the torso for 30m before executing a ride in hot (32°C/90°F) conditions [15].	Cold water immersion enhanced heat storage and exercise capacity.
pre-cooling/ice ingestion	Cyclists ingested 7g/kg/bodyweight of crushed ice 30m before a ride in hot (35°C/95°F) conditions [16].	Ice ingestion led to lower core temperature, greater heat storage capacity, and improved gross efficiency.
mid-cooling/spraying or pouring water	A fine mist of water was sprayed on stationary cyclists’ heads every 30s during the time to exhaustion ride [17,18].	RPE was reduced, time to fatigue improved by an average of 51%.  Pouring water also effective at increasing evaporative cooling although not studied to date.
mid-cooling ice slushies	Cyclists rode for 60m at RPE 14 followed by 20k TT in hot (30°C/86°F) conditions while ingesting ice slurry ad libitum [19].	Ice slurry ingestion “induced likely and possibly substantial” increase in TT performance and overall mean power output.
mid cooling/cooling collar or ice sock	Participants ran for 90m on a treadmill in hot (30.5°C/87°F) conditions with a cold collar [20].	Performance improved (greater distance was run) while wearing the cold collar even though athletes found it uncomfortable.
mid-cooling/swilling methol solution	Cyclists swilled a menthol solution every 10m while executing a ride to exhaustion in hot  (34°C/93°F) conditions [21].	Endurance capacity (measured by time to exhaustion) was improved.

Cooling Strategies Are Full of Maybes

Are any of the above cooling strategies really worth your time and effort?  Maybe, but a few caveats are in order.

1. Very little pre or mid-cooling research has been conducted on highly trained athletes.  In a practical sense, the more trained you are, the better you can handle riding in the heat, likely reducing the effectiveness of any pre or mid-cooling strategies [22].  Put another way, if you can use HA to “train-away” the potential benefits of pre or mid-cooling, you’re doing something right!
2. While there is evidence to suggest that some pre-cooling and mid-cooling techniques might improve your performance, test, test, test, for yourself.  Some strategies like ice ingestion can lead to significant GI discomfort [23].  I.E., just like with your fueling and hydration approach, use best practice guidelines to develop a strategy you can experiment with well in advance of your most important races.
3. Inevitably pre and mid-cooling strategies require greater logistical planning.  Factor in more time/potential stress in your pre-race routine before investing in any “extras”.
4. Pre and mid-cooling strategies should be secondary to nailing your fueling and hydration.  Don’t neglect the basics.

Putting It All Together (TL:DR)

---

References

1. J. H. Guy, G. B. Deakin, A. M. Edwards, C. M. Miller, and D. B. Pyne, “Adaptation to hot environmental conditions: an exploration of the performance basis, procedures and future directions to optimise opportunities for elite athletes,” Sport. Med, vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 303–311, 2015.
2. A. J. Tatterson, A. G. Hahn, D. T. Martini, and M. A. Febbraio, “Effects of heat stress on physiological responses and exercise performance in elite cyclists,” J. Sci. Med. Sport, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 186–193, Jun. 2000.
3. J. González-Alonso, C. Teller, S. L. Andersen, F. B. Jensen, T. Hyldig, and B. Nielsen, “Influence of body temperature on the development of fatigue during prolonged exercise in the heat,” J. Appl. Physiol., vol. 86, no. 3, pp. 1032–1039, Mar. 1999.
4. R. Tucker, L. Rauch, Y. R. Harley, and T. Noakes, “Impaired exercise performance in the heat is associated with an anticipatory reduction in skeletal muscle recruitment,” Pflugers Arch. – Eur. J. Physiol., vol. 448, no. 4, Jul. 2004.
5. a T. Garrett, “Induction and Decay of Short-Term Heat Acclimation in Moderately and Highly Trained Athletes,” 2011.
6. J. T. Fein, “Effects of Daily and Intermittent Exposures on Heat Acclimation of Women,” 1975.
7. S. Lorenzo, J. R. Halliwill, M. N. Sawka, and C. T. Minson, “Heat acclimation improves exercise performance,” J. Appl. Physiol., vol. 109, no. 4, pp. 1140–1147, 2010.
8. J. A. Houmard, D. L. Costill, J. A. Davis, J. B. Mitchell, D. D. Pascoe, and R. A. Robergs, “The influence of exercise intensity on heat acclimation in trained subjects.,” Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., vol. 22, no. 5, pp. 615–20, Oct. 1990.
9. M. J. Zurawlew, N. P. Walsh, M. B. Fortes, and C. Potter, “Post-exercise hot water immersion induces heat acclimation and improves endurance exercise performance in the heat,” Scand. J. Med. Sci. Sports, vol. 26, no. 7, pp. 745–754, 2016.
10. G. S. M. Scoon, W. G. Hopkins, S. Mayhew, and J. D. Cotter, “Effect of post-exercise sauna bathing on the endurance performance of competitive male runners,” J. Sci. Med. Sport, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 259–262, Aug. 2007.
11. A. S. Perrotta, M. D. White, M. S. Koehle, J. E. Taunton, and D. E. R. Warburton, “Efficacy of hot yoga as a heat stress technique for enhancing plasma volume and cardiovascular performance in elite female field hockey players,” J. Strength Cond. Res., vol. 32, no. 10, pp. 2878–2887, 2018.
12. C. J. Stevens, D. J. Plews, P. B. Laursen, A. B. Kittel, and L. Taylor, “Acute physiological and perceptual responses to wearing additional clothing while cycling outdoors in a temperate environment:A practical method to increase the heat load,” Temp., vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 414–419, 2017.
13. C. J. Stevens, S. L. Heathcote, D. J. Plews, P. B. Laursen, and L. Taylor, “Effect of two-weeks endurance training wearing additional clothing in a temperate outdoor environment on performance and physiology in the heat,” Temperature, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 267–275, 2018.
14. C. J. Tyler, T. Reeve, • Gary, J. Hodges, and S. S. Cheung, “The Effects of Heat Adaptation on Physiology, Perception and Exercise Performance in the Heat: A Meta-Analysis,” Sport. Med., vol. 46, pp. 1699–1724, 2016.
15. H. Hasegawa, T. Takatori, T. Komura, and M. Yamasaki, “Combined effects of pre-cooling and water ingestion on thermoregulation and physical capacity during exercise in a hot environment,” J. Sports Sci., vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 3–9, Jan. 2006.
16. [16] M. Zimmermann, G. Landers, K. E. Wallman, and J. Saldaris, “The Effects of Crushed Ice Ingestion Prior to Steady State Exercise in the Heat,” Int. J. Sport Nutr. Exerc. Metab., vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 220–227, Jun. 2017.
17. L. Ansley, G. Marvin, A. Sharma, M. J. Kendall, D. A. Jones, and M. W. Bridge, “The Effects of Head Cooling on Endurance and Neuroendocrine Responses to Exercise in Warm Conditions,” Physiol. Res, vol. 57, pp. 863–872, 2008.
18. N. B. Morris and O. Jay, “To drink or to pour: How should athletes use water to cool themselves?,” Temperature, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 191–194, 2016.
19. E. Schulze et al., “Effect of Thermal State and Thermal Comfort on Cycling Performance in the Heat,” Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perform., vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 655–663, Jul. 2015.
20. A. Minniti, C. J. Tyler, and C. Sunderland, “Effects of a cooling collar on affect, ratings of perceived exertion, and running performance in the heat,” Eur. J. Sport Sci., vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 419–429, 2011.
21. T. A. Mü ndel David A Jones, “The effects of swilling an L(2)-menthol solution during exercise in the heat.”
22. C. J. Stevens, L. Taylor, and B. J. Dascombe, “Cooling During Exercise: An Overlooked Strategy for Enhancing Endurance Performance in the Heat,” Sport. Med, vol. 47, no. 5, pp. 829–841, 2017.
23. C. J. Stevens, B. Dascombe, A. Boyko, D. Sculley, and R. Callister, “Ice slurry ingestion during cycling improves Olympic distance triathlon performance in the heat,” J. Sports Sci., vol. 31, no. 12, pp. 1271–1279, Aug. 2013.
24. A. S. Weller, D. M. Linnane, A. G. Jonkman, and H. A. M. Daanen, “Quantification of the decay and re-induction of heat acclimation in dry-heat following 12 and 26 days without exposure to heat stress,” Eur. J. Appl. Physiol., vol. 102, no. 1, pp. 57–66, 2007.
25. J. R. Casadio, A. E. Kilding, J. D. Cotter, and P. B. Laursen, “CURRENT OPINION From Lab to Real World: Heat Acclimation Considerations for Elite Athletes,” 2016.
26. Benjamin, C. L., et al. (2021). “Heat Acclimation Following Heat Acclimatization Elicits Additional Physiological Improvements in Male Endurance Athletes.” Int J Environ Res Public Health 18(8).