Stage 15 averaged 41°C and hit 44°C on the climbs, prompting Matthew Brennan to warn "it wouldn't surprise me if there's a few bodies going home in an ambulance tonight with a heat stroke." Gall's admission that he eased off rather than defend his overall position marks a shift from tactical caution to enforced passivity — attacking now costs more than it can win. When the second-placed rider in a Grand Tour openly chooses not to race, the heat isn't a subplot anymore. It's setting the terms.