--- title: "Tour de France Pouring Water to Keep Roads From Melting Amid Deadly Heatwave" description: "To keep the race going during the scorching European heatwave, the Tour de France is pouring water on parts of the course to stop the roads from melting." date: "2022-07-21" modified: "2022-07-21" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tour-de-france-roads-melting-heatwave" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "climate change" - "heatwave" - "sports" - "the digest" --- # Tour de France Pouring Water to Keep Roads From Melting Amid Deadly Heatwave ![To keep the race going during the scorching European heatwave, the Tour de France is pouring water on parts of the course to stop the roads from melting.]() *\Image: Michael Steele/Getty Images\* ## Bicycle Hell Despite [deadly wildfires]() and [record heat]() across Europe, the Tour de France is doing everything in its power to keep cyclists on the route — to the degree that its organizers have even taken to [pouring water on parts of the course]() to make sure the roads don't melt. *Jalopnik* [reports that]() Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), which manages the Tour, has allocated 10,000 liters (about 2,642 gallons) of water, split between multiple trucks, to target particularly meltable points in the course. Who said the apocalypse had to be dull! "In certain places, the asphalt is going to start melting, not everywhere of course, but it is going to get much softer," a French road safety official [told French TV outlet *France24*](), explaining that the water solution is for rider safety. "So you can imagine how that might end?" The Tour has [only rarely been cancelled]() in its century-plus history, and officials clearly aren't eager to succumb to the heat. But as the temperatures in Europe inch towards a sweltering peak, many are wondering if it's safe to keep riders on the streets at all — and whether continuing the competition is worth wasting the resources, especially while [fires burn elsewhere]() in the nation and beyond. https://twitter.com/PSchydlowski/status/1548586670605344768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1548586670605344768%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fjalopnik.com%2Fembed%2Finset%2Fiframe%3Fid%3Dtwitter-1548586670605344768autosize%3D1 ## Very Hot Basically, it's incredibly hot in Europe, to a degree that's challenging infrastructure. Melting roads have already been an [issue in several places](), and though the ol' Dumping Water on Hot Stuff solution might work as a band-aid treatment, it hardly seems sustainable. One safe takeaway is that the Sports Industrial Complex is [incredibly wasteful](). It's hard to see this allocation of resources while [land burns and people die](), and as this terrifyingly hot summer season rages on, it might be a good time for leaders in every industry — [sports included]() — to ask themselves what, exactly, it's worth. **More on the Europe's heatwave:** [*Over a Thousand Die in European "Heat Apocalypse"*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()