Sweat vs Science

The key to the modern peloton's fixation with science may be found in the myth surrounding Jacques Anquetil's water bottle

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A few years ago, I was invited to sample the latest 'performance optimisation' technique being employed by scientists at Bahrain-Merida. I had a skullcap fitted and was zapped with electricity for 20 minutes. Then I went to ride my bike in the Italian Alps for six hours before having the procedure repeated on my return.

This treatment, known as transcranial direct current stimulation, had already achieved results, claimed the team, with 35-year-old Domenico Pozzovivo crediting it for his career-best fifth place at the 2018 Giro d'Italia. (Teammate Vincenzo Nibali, however, had not been a participant. 'He doesn't trust machines,' I was told.)

In a nutshell, the theory is that low-level electrical charges targeting specific areas of the brain enhances the ability to tolerate pain or overcome fatigue.

My own experience, however, was adversely affected by a thunderstorm on day one, which prevented us setting off as promptly as the time-limited treatment required, and the all-night tolling of a church bell at the end of day two, which prevented me from getting the required amount of sleep.