Cycling. French Championships: It's going to be hot, a real show.

Seeking shade before light. Ultimately, when it comes to the elements, everyone is in the same boat. Thousands of fans slathered in sunscreen at the foot of their camper vans atop Mont des Alouettes, moving tables and chairs throughout the day following the sun's path. Those taking advantage of the fragile blades of the iconic windmills for shelter: bottles of still-cool water on the back of their necks, warm bottles to hydrate. But even with 38 degrees (in the shade) forecast for this Sunday, they wouldn't miss the anticipated show for the world.

“Above all, don’t go into the red.”

"The heat will play an important role," predicts Kevin Vauquelin . Fiery after his fall that probably cost him the French time trial jersey on Thursday, the Norman from Arkea B&B Hotels has revenge to take: "It's no secret that we must not push ourselves too far (in these conditions), be consistent in our efforts, and not trigger too early."

"Stay hydrated, manage heat waves," lists Valentin Madouas . The Breton knows his stuff, French champion in 2023 in the Cassel heatwave : "I was able to manage it well at the time, it doesn't put me at a disadvantage, it's even quite positive," assures the man who loves these exhausting races promised "to warriors."

The "high heat" protocol has been triggered

The staff of Groupama-FDJ and other teams are preparing ice vests, ice-filled tights and hundreds of water bottles: an essential arsenal for going into battle this Sunday when the UCI's "high heat" protocol has been triggered: the race distance has been reduced by one lap (from 231 to 214.5 kilometers) and a refreshment stop has been added.

On a battlefield that is "hard without being too hard, with a demanding but not too steep hill: it's perfect for me," says Bastien Tronchon from Savoy, one of the cards in a Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team that is less well-stocked than others (TotalEnergies and Groupama-FDJ), but determined to "keep the jersey," repeats the defending champion Paul Lapeira .

Many suitors

Always being one step ahead of the big teams, "exploiting the mistakes of others" and "jumping into the groups in which the big teams will be represented," for Julien Bernard (on the podium in the last two editions), Paul Magnier from Isère and other solo riders or almost. "In any case, given the circumstances, it can only be a strong man who wins," says Anthony Turgis, one of the guns at TotalEnergies.

The problem is that there are a lot of strong men. From Romain Grégoire to Paul Seixas , including Louis Barré and Nicolas Prodhomme… and all those mentioned above. An informal poll of the peloton has revealed… around thirty favorites. It's going to be a hot, very spectacular show.