The rest day was also an opportunity for Tour de France teams to prepare for the heat which suddenly hit the race on Wednesday.

After ten days in the rain, the abrupt change towards milder climate can be a further strain on the body. Team Sky, for instance, prepared on rolls in an overheated room to help riders adapt to the new conditions. 

"The abrupt arrival of heat stimulates a hormone which helps adapt to the temperature. In some cases, the process takes place instantly . In other cases, it takes a little bit of time. That's the reason why Team Sky worked that way. Other teams use saunas for instance, " said Cofidis team manager Yvon Sanquer. 

No such preparation in the French team though.

"There are only individual cases in a team and we opted for an individual preparation. Some riders need to rest, others need to ride. Some adapt to the heat instantly, like Spaniards Daniel Navarro or Luis Mate, others more slowly."

The main concern for most team directors was the long first act of the Tour, which took place without a lull or even a time-trial, used by many non-specialists as a chance to relax a bit.