EF Education-EasyPost kept cool and safe for the hot, dangerous sprint into Bordeaux that ended the Tour de France's seventh stage.

After a very tough day out in the Pyrenees and with a sprint almost guaranteed for the end, our squad's mission was to spin their legs and refuel their muscles on the flat route from Hagetmau to Bordeaux. Chances for breakaways lie ahead and we want all our strength to go for wins.

The highlight from today was our trip through Cadillac-sur-Garonne, where Cadillac lit up the local castle in pink to celebrate our arrival.

Tomorrow, we'll take on another flat stage from Périgueux to Bergerac in the Dordogne, before racing into the Massif Central, where our breakaway specialists are going to come into their own.

"Today was easy. I saw lots of vineyards. I only averaged 180 watts!" – Sean Quinn

"It was special to go through the birthplace of Cadillac, but today was straightforward. We’re focused on the days ahead." – Kasper Asgreen

"Today was pretty much a nailed-on sprint stage — basically a Category 0 day for us, with no sprinter here. The focus was on making sure the guys looked after themselves: refueling, rehydrating, and preparing for the important stages that are coming up.

"It was a safe, calm day, and it was pretty clear how the finale was going to play out. The key was to manage our efforts and do everything we could to be ready for what's ahead.

"It's still a Category 0 day tomorrow. That said, you can never really tell these days because on stages where everyone is half asleep, strange things can happen. You can have crashes or situations that come out of nowhere.

"We've seen stages like that before, where it all kicked off at the intermediate sprint and suddenly the race split apart. Mohoric won a stage like that a few years ago, and Valgren was there as well. So you still have to stay attentive.

"If you look at the footage today, Kasper was really motivated to cover anything that looked out of the ordinary — to be ready for that one-percent scenario that nobody expects but could actually succeed.

"That was good. It's important to have someone who's always thinking that way — someone who's ready to react if something unexpected happens. If the race opens up, we want to be there." – Tom Southam, sports director

Our mission today was to keep watts low and our squad embraced the challenge. Ben was the winner with an average of 157 watts. That takes real wheel-surfing skills and aerodynamics. Kasper is bigger than Ben, but still got to Bordeaux with an impressive average of just 190 watts. All that power saved is power that our squad will be able to use in the stages ahead.

The peloton sped through Cadillac-sur-Garonne on its way from Hagetmau to Bordeaux. We raced ahead in our Cadillac Lyriq to visit the original Cadillac. In the 1600s, explorer Antoine de la Mothe adopted the town's name before heading to North America. In 1701, he founded the settlement that would become Detroit, Michigan. When the Cadillac automobile company was founded in 1902, it was named in honor of Detroit's founder. The iconic Cadillac crest was inspired by Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac's coat of arms, too. Going to see where it all started was inspiring. Cadillac lit up the local castle in pink to celebrate our squad's arrival.

Keeping a cool core is key before a hot race. One of the fastest ways to reduce your body temperature is to drink a slushie. Our riders have been enjoying this simple combo of fruit juice and crushed ice ahead of sweltering stages at the Tour de France to cool down and top up their stores of carbs before the starts.

Ingredients:

2 cups fruit juice (orange, cranberry, mango, or any juice you like)

2 cups crushed ice

1 tbsp sugar or honey (optional, to taste)

Squeeze of lime or lemon juice (optional)

Method:

Add the crushed ice to a blender.

Pour in the fruit juice.

Add sugar or honey and lime juice if using.

Blend on high for 30 to 45 seconds, until smooth and slushy — no ice chunks.

If too thick, add a splash more juice; if too thin, add more ice and blend again.

Pour into glasses and serve immediately with a straw.

Our soigneurs keep our team on the road. They drive around France with cold drink bottles for our riders, make sure that all of our luggage travels from one hotel to the next, wash cars, care for our equipment, and massage our athletes' legs after every stage. Our riders' time with their soigneurs is precious. On the massage table, they are able to relax and speak about their day in peace and quiet. The word soigneur comes from the French verb soigner, which means to help. So, a soigneur is, literally, a helper. Ours are much more than that. They are key members of our performance staff, who make sure our riders and their gear are always in the best shape. That's fitting, because the adjective soigné means well-groomed, carefully presented, immaculate. Thanks to our soigneurs, we arrive at every start line fresh.