The heat wave that hit the opening week of the Vuelta a España has led teams to distribute more water and ice than ever before in an effort to beat the heat in southern Spain.

So far, the Vuelta peloton has suffered and survived, despite Richard Carapaz and other riders entering the “zone of despair” at the high temperatures. However, the same cannot be said for the team buses in the race, and in the heat before stage 4, the Sourdal-Quick Step team bus fell victim to technical problems.

As a result, the team, renamed T-Rex Quickstep for this Vuelta, had to ask locals to stay overnight in the starting town of Plasencia to prepare for the race's first mountain stage.

The last-minute change of plans did not affect the Belgian team too much, with team leader Mikel Landa finishing seventh overall at Pico Viluercas in the same time as stage winner Primos Roglic.

The sprint to Seville on stage 5 was again compromised because the team bus was not yet moving. Luckily, Spain's Burgos-BH (a non-Vuelta invitee since 2017) came to the rescue.

The pro team, currently in action at the Tour Poitou-Charentes, intervened on Wednesday by lending one of its team buses to Sudar-Quick Step.

Spanish team bus driver David was recalled from vacation. Because the team is based near Burgos in northern Spain, he had to make the 600-km, six-hour trip to Fuente del Maestre in Extremadura, the start of stage 5.

“I was in France on vacation with my family when I received a phone call. 'There was a problem with the Soudal-QuickStep bus and we returned to Burgos at dawn.' In the morning I drove from Burgos and arrived at the starting point.”

Burgos-BH posted a message on social networking sites, saying, “We are honored to be of service! Good luck in La Vuelta and enjoy our home race,” and several Soudal-Quickstep riders sent messages thanking the team for their help.

“All of Team Burgos. Thanks so much for saving the bus. You are a lifesaver for us in the heat of the Vuelta. Cheers,” Danish rider Kasper Asgreen said in a video posted by the team on social media.