Jorgenson on the heat of the Tour de France: "I can't remember a tougher edition."

Matteo Jorgenson made no secret of his difficulties in dealing with the scorching heat of this 2026 Tour de France. The American rider, originally from Idaho and accustomed to much cooler climates, openly admitted to suffering greatly during the hottest stages of the Grande Boucle.

Monday's rest day was a godsend for Jorgenson: no training, no sun, just air conditioning and recovery. A decision that speaks volumes about how the heat is impacting the riders' performances in this edition of the Tour, destined to go down in history as the hottest ever.

Temperatures in France have reached alarming levels , with red weather warnings issued for large parts of central France. The situation is so dire that stage 9 has been shortened by 30 kilometers and nutrition rules have been relaxed to allow riders to consume more fluids and ice. The start of stage 10 in Aurillac recorded 31°C, with some relief only at the high-altitude finish in Le Lioran, at 1,240 meters above sea level.

" It's a very tough Tour de France; I can't immediately recall a more difficult edition. It's certainly the hottest ," Jorgenson told Dutch website In de Leiderstrui . " The heat is hitting me really hard. I've always performed better in cold temperatures. It's a challenge to manage, although I fared better in the last stages and managed to conserve some energy. I haven't had to reach the bottom of my reserves, which is a good sign for the second and third weeks. "

Jorgenson finished tenth in the 2024 Tour de France and tenth in the 2025 Vuelta a España, but this year he's decided to put aside any personal ambitions. " For me, it's much better to save energy in the finale and focus 100% on Jonas. If we break away, it's for defensive reasons. We're only looking at Jonas's classification ," the American explained.

Tactically, Visma-Lease a Bike is still keeping hopes of a comeback alive. Vingegaard is 2 minutes and 42 seconds behind Pogačar, but the team still believes they can catch up. The same finish at Le Lioran was the scene, in 2024, of a remarkable comeback by Vingegaard over Pogačar. " Jonas is a leader by example. He's up against perhaps the greatest cyclist of all time, he still believes in himself and fights every day to stay as close as possible. I can only applaud him because he truly believes he can beat him, and we all believe in it. It's incredible to see ," Jorgenson concluded to Cyclingnews.

Photo: Sprint Cycling Agency