Climate change is no longer a distant forecast - it’s an active disruption to sport and a growing threat to lives.

Former ITV cycling commentator Matt Rendell, in collaboration with the Cool Down Network, delivers a powerful opinion piece in Cycling Weekly (27 August 2025), calling for immediate and meaningful reform in professional cycling.

Key insights:

• Mid-race charter flights must be banned. The Vuelta a España recently flew riders ~700 km mid-event - the French Alps to Spain - demonstrating how carbon-intensive logistics contradict sport’s call to sustainability.

• Extreme heat is here. This summer, unprecedented wildfires - and the tangible impacts of climate change - have become part of the racing landscape. Cycling, once a celebration of human effort and nature, is now unfolding within a climate-transformed environment.

• Check the sponsors. Cycling remains haunted by “sportswashing” - as oil and gas giants (like Eni) continue to sponsor races, co-opting the sport’s green appeal to mask their climate-impacting operations.

• Fans can drive change. Rendell highlights the Fossil Free Declaration, a grassroots initiative urging sporting bodies to sever ties with fossil fuel sponsors and push for meaningful climate action.

Why this matters for sport and environment leaders:

Professional sport - cycling in particular - is uniquely vulnerable to climate disruption. From record heatwaves and wildfires to unsustainable logistics and reputational risks via fossil-fuel sponsorship, the crisis is multifaceted and immediate.

Let’s lead the change - to safeguard both sport and a liveable future.

You can read the full article here