6,000 calories! What a Tour de France rider eats in just one day

[nonky]

6,000 calories! What a Tour de France rider eats in just one day Trek Factory Racing's head chef and a sports nutritionist explain how a Tour rider fuels for a single day's stage of the three week race

 

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03371/Trek1_3371506b.jpg

The Trek Factory Racing team in fuel-burning action Photo: TDWSSport.com

 

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02657/TM-logo_2657567j.jpg

By Telegraph Men

7:40AM BST 12 Jul 2015

 

 

Ever wondered what it takes to keep a professional cyclist on their bike during the hardest race in the world?

We went behind the scenes with Trek Factory Racing’s head chef Kim Rokkjaer and SiS Senior Sports nutritionist Emma Barraclough to find out what a pro peddler eats during a 24 hour period in the Tour de France.

 

 

 

8am breakfast = porridge or muesli followed by fruit, yoghurt, bread and a smoothie

 

Kim Rokkjaer: “First up is an early serving of porridge or muesli, with a few unusual additions focused on preparing the riders for the day ahead”:

 

Porridge

 

- Jumbo oats

- Cinnamon

- Pineapple juice

- Salt

- Olive oil

Emma Barraclough: “From the moment the riders wake up, their diet is focused on maximizing their carbohydrate stores. The fruit juice and olive oil keep the muesli dairy free and the oil ramps up the calories.”

Average serving kcal = 480kcal

 

Muesli

 

- Basic muesli (no added sugar)

- Rice milk

- Mixed berries

- Honey

- Natural yogurt

EB: Kim’s bircher-style muesli is really popular with the riders. Again it’s a good combination of fast and slow release carbohydrates, with plenty of fruit included. The rice milk and yogurt provides protein.

Average serving kcal = 510kcal

 

Fruit & Yogurt

 

KR: “A quick mid breakfast snack of fruit and yogurt helps to deliver the range of carbohydrates that the riders will use later. Anything that is left over by the riders is carefully packed up and stored until after the race. Every calorie counts in the day of a pro cyclist”

Average serving kcal = 200kcal

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03371/Breakfast_3371513b.jpg (Photo: SiS.com)

 

Smoothie

 

- Raspberries

- Oranges

- Bananas

- Honey

- Natural yogurt with added probiotics

EB: “The smoothies are to help keep the riders fruit and vegetable intake up, without a lot of food bulk. The probiotics will help settle the stomach before the day’s stage.”

Average serving kcal = 200kcal

KR: “With breakfast the riders typically tuck in to a bit of bread - although this isn’t your farmhouse white loaf. There’s almost no gluten and it has a few healthy additions”:

 

Bread (almost gluten free)

 

- Dried yeast

- Spelt

- Sunflower & pumpkin seeds

- Pistachio nuts

- Oats

- Olive oil

- Honey

EB: “The bread Kim makes is almost completely gluten free to go easy on the riders’ guts. Over the course of the Tour’s three weeks, the riders become more sensitive to gluten and other ingredients that can irritate the stomach.”

Average serving kcal = 150kcal

 

 

Post signing-on snack = cake or nuts

 

KR: “By the time they’ve travelled to the start and signed-on the riders will need a carb top up. There’s a rider favourite in here, to give you a clue, it isn’t rice cakes”:

 

Snack

 

- 3 x rice cakes

- 40g nutella (on top)

- dried fruit and nuts

EB: “A bit of comfort food is as important as anything else during a tough stage, Nutella is high in sugar so at this point, just before the race, it works well.

Average serving kcal = 500 kcal

^{Trek Factory Racing rider Fabian Cancellara warms up before a stage of the 2012 Tour de France}

 

 

During the race = sarnies, gels and bars

 

- 2-3 pieces of sandwich from the feed station musette. These are usually small rolls filled with ham, cream cheese, or honey or nutella

- 1 piece of cake from the feed station musette. Usually a rice or fruit compote cake

- 500ml electrolyte drink per hour, plus a second bottle of of water or hydration drink

- 1 energy gel or energy bar every hour

EB: "The riders' demands change throughout the day, with solid food preferred earlier on, and gels and energy bars needed later as the intensity increases in line with fatigue.”

"Each rider has enough energy stored in their muscles for just over an hour's worth of exercise without sustenance. Any longer than 90 minutes and the riders will start to tire.

"It’s key for the riders to start eating just before the first hour is up, focusing on fast release carbohydrate. Hydration will also affect performance so water and electrolytes are essential, especially if it’s a hot day.

"It's important to make clear that the above is a general outline. Every stage demands different nutrition dependent on the rider, their ambitions and the nature of the route.”

Average kcal intake for a stage = 1800 kcal

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02279/5_2279769b.jpg^{The musettes that are given out to riders during the race hold food and energy bars(Photo: Laura Fletcher)}

 

 

Post race recovery meal = pasta and sandwiches

 

KR: “When the race finishes, recovery starts. The team’s soigneurs greet the riders at the line with a recovery shake. After they’ve stumbled back to the bus I will have prepared something tailored to the rider’s preferences, usually a chicken/tuna pasta type dish.

- 1 recovery shake

- Chicken pasta salad

- Muesli

- Sandwich

- Hydration drink/cola/iced tea

EB: “The period immediately after the finish is crucial for kick starting the riders' recovery, getting their glycogen stores replenished as fast as possible.

"SiS REGO Rapid Recovery shake is a great way to get fast release carbohydrates and proteins back into the riders, which is light on the stomach.”

Average kcal intake post-race = 920 kcal

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03371/shake_3371580b.jpg^{Recovery shakes supply your system with extra protein and carbs}

 

 

7pm dinner = fish and meat with plenty of carbs

 

KR: “Time for the big meal of the day: over a thousand calories in one sitting. The riders tuck in early to avoid disrupting their sleep.”

- Tuna Steak, roasted and seasoned in salt/pepper/sesame seeds, or a meat dish

- Dark whole grain pasta

- Fried rice with vegetables

- Salad

- Rice pudding desert

EB: “The high glycaemic index of the white rice forces an insulin response and replenishes the glycogen stores of the riders, which is crucial to perform well the next day.”

Average kcal intake – 1210 kcal

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03371/Trek2_3371526b.jpg^{Grub's up: every calorie counts for a pro rider (Photo: SiS.com)}

 

 

9pm evening snack = cereal or fruit

 

KR: “A quick snack before bed will continue recovery through the night.”

- Overnight protein shake

- Cereal bar

- Dried fruit and nuts

EB: “During the evening and overnight it’s vital to stop the riders’ muscles breaking down from the extreme physical effort of a stage. The shake based on milk protein helps to maintain muscle fibres.

"Over the course of the Tour, the risk of overnight muscle breakdown increases if an energy deficit is racked up over a few days, which can account for poor performance in the third week.”

Average kcal intake – 550kcal

 

 

Daily Total = 5910 kcal

 

Total intake for the day comes just under 6,000 kcal (5,910), which is roughly three times the daily amount recommended for an average man.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03371/Chef_3371520b.jpg^{Trek Factory Racing's head chef Kim Rokkjaer (Photo: SiS.com)}

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/active/recreational-cycling/11729780/6000-calories-What-a-Tour-de-France-rider-eats-in-just-one-day.html

[Patchelicious]

Wonder what their TP bill is!

[nonky]

What I find interesting, when compared to South African MTB stages races, is that there's no sign of eggs, bacon, sausage etc. which is standard breakfast fare. 

.

This article made me think about nutrition for stage races and realize that I'm probably eating wrong, despite best intentions.

[RyanD]

Great read. Thanks for posting this.

[nonky]

another article along the same lines (no, not Paolini)

 

The Tour de France Diet: How to Consume 8,000 Calories a Day

 

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Cyclists on the Tour de France need to consume some 8,000 a day to keep weight.

Credit: Doug Pensinger / Getty Images

At rest, we all burn roughly 90 calories an hour, or a little more than 2,100 a day. Run at full-tilt on a treadmill for an hour, and you'll burn some 600 – although most of us can keep it up for half of that time. Ride in major cycling race like the USA Pro Challenge or Tour de France, on the other hand, and you'll find yourself burning a whopping 1,000 calories per hour – for four hours a day. Indeed, the Tour is a race on the road and at the table, given that the average racer needs to ingest some 8,000 calories a day in order to keep weight.

Without practicing, it's impossible to keep all the food you need in a day down, says Austrian sports nutritionist Judith Haudum, who is responsible for feeding the BMC Racing Team. "During training, you need to find out how much carbohydrates your body can handle," Haudum says. "If you consume too many in an hour, you run the risk of having to throw up." During the race, riders get about 1,500 calories – primarily from sports drinks, bars, gels, and paninis – still leaving a 6,500 calories deficit. Haudum helps the team close this gap with an early breakfast about three to four hours before a stage. A post-breakfast snack will bring the day's calorie total to more than 1,000 before the race starts. After the race, each cyclist needs to consume the remaining 5,500 calories with several snacks and dinner.

In the days before stage one, Haudum says cyclists focus on filling their glycogen stores to prepare for the start. For some riders, that means eating up to 800 grams of carbs during that period – or the equivalent of 30 plates of pasta over the course of 48 to 72 hours. "It's eating a lot of food, but you also have to take into account that eating carbohydrate-rich foods, like honey, can help it add up," she says. "It's not that you necessarily have to eat 10 plates of pasta at lunch to meet the carbohydrate needs."

Without such massive quantities of food, riders would be at risk for extreme weigh loss and simply would not be able to compete. "You could have the best massage or have the best bike, but if your body doesn't get the fuel it needs – you can't perform," Haudum says. "That's just the case."

 

An Example Race Day Food Diary

Breakfast (3-4 hours before the race starts):
1 bowl of porridge (150 calories per cup, cooked) with banana (105 calories per banana), and some nuts (529 calories per cup of almonds)
1 big plate of pasta (174 calories per cup)
1 piece of cake (roughly 225 calories)
Coffee (1 calorie per cup)
Fruit juice (122 calories per serving)

Post-breakfast snack:
Cereal bar (about 120 calories)
Fruit juice (122 calories per serving)

During a 4-hour stage: (quantity varies depending on the stage profile, and weather)
3 gels (about 100 calories each) 1 bar (about 220 calories)
2 paninis (roughly 380 calories each)
8-12 bottles of sports drinks (50 calories per 8 ounces)

Post-race:
Recovery drink (209 calories per cup of chocolate milk)
1 bowl of rice (216 calories per cup) with ham (203 calories per cup) and parmesan cheese (22 calories per tablespoon)

Pre-dinner snack:
Greek yogurt (100 calories per container) with granola, (280 calories per cup)
Dried fruits (roughly 100 calories per ¼ cup)
Water (0 calories)

Dinner:
Salad
Risotto, (about 280 calories per serving) with:
-chicken breast (500 calories per breast)
-vegetables (50 calories per serving of broccoli)
-potatoes (163 calories in a medium-sized potato)
Fruit salad (about 74 calories per cup)

Post-dinner snack:
Fruit (105 calories in a banana)
Crackers (about 13 calories per cracker)

 

– Jessie Geoffray

Read more: http://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/nutrition/the-tour-de-france-diet-how-to-consume-8-000-calories-a-day-20140710#ixzz3fqSvxp5P
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