The opening weekend of racing at the Tour de France has been fiery in more ways than one. On the bikes, riders haven't failed to put on a show, but the biggest battle many riders faced was one with Mother Nature, rather than each other. As the race began in Florence, a high-summer heatwave blasted Italy, turning it into an oven.
![Heatwave - Figure 1](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gkLUNRe5XQ2jjFx3FSrZLa-320-80.jpeg)
Mark Cavendish was the highest profile rider to suffer, vomiting en route and, at the finish, being given an iced towel by a waiting press officer. It was already going to be a tough day for the British sprinter with 3600m of climbing on the road to Rimini, but the 36°C heat didn't help.