Oral Presentation Skin Cancer 2024

UV exposures during mass-participation gran-fondo cycling events in Italy and France compared to similar recreational activity in New Zealand (#17)

Martin W Allen 1 , Richard L Mckenzie 2 , Ben Liley 2 , Michael Kotkamp 2 , Henri Diémoz 3 , Anna Maria Siani 4
  1. University of Canterbury, Christchurch, CANTERBURY, New Zealand
  2. National Institute for Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Lauder, Central Otago, New Zealand
  3. Aosta Valley Regional Environmental Protection Agency (ARPA), Saint-Christophe, Italy
  4. Physics Department, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy

Gran fondos (“big rides”) are mass-participation cycling events that originated in Italy in the 1970s and currently enjoy ever-increasing popularity in Europe, North America, and Australia. In Italy and France alone, there are more than 100 gran fondos during the summer months. Popular events such as the Etape du Tour, MontBlanc Granfondo, and Sportful Dolomiti take place in the Alpes and Dolomites in high summer and attract many thousands of participants. Their long (120+ km) duration and location at high altitudes (2,000+ m) provide an interesting opportunity to study personal UV exposures during day-long summertime recreational events. Wearable electronic UV dosimeters1 were used to measure the erythemally-weighted UV exposures received during several popular gran fondos in Italy and France compared to similar recreational activity in New Zealand. The choice of this comparison is interesting as New Zealand and Italy share similar locations in their respective hemispheres but with New Zealand experiencing typically 40% higher peak UV irradiances (at equivalent latitudes) due to a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors.2,3 To ensure accurate measurements, the dosimeters were calibrated by multi-day intercomparison with meteorological-grade instruments at the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in New Zealand2 and the Aosta Valley Regional Environmental Protection Agency (ARPA) in Italy.4 Very large standard erythemal doses (20+ SED wrist;  40+ SED head) were measured during these events with the enhancements produced by altitude in Italy/France exceeded by the effects of lower ozone and atmospheric aerosols, and the closer summer earth-sun separation in New Zealand.

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  2. 2. R. McKenzie, G. Bodeker, G. Scott, J. Slusser, and K. Lantz, “Geographical differences in erythemally-weighted UV measured at mid-latitude USDA sites,” Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences 5, 343 (2006)
  3. 3. G. Seckmeyer and R.L. McKenzie, “Increased ultraviolet radiation in New Zealand (45o S) relative to Germany (48o N),” Nature 359, 135 (1992)
  4. 4. I. Fountoulakis, H. Diémoz, A.M. Siani, G. Hülsen, and J. Gröbner, “Monitoring of solar spectral ultraviolet irradiance in Aosta, Italy,” Earth System Science Data, 12, 2787 (2020)