The Tour De France pushes its competitor’s like no other sporting event on the planet. Whilst the individual stages are hard, what makes it so difficult is the cumulative effect of the wear and tear of constant competition for 3 weeks.
The raw figures tell a story -21 days of racing, covering 3,430.5 km (the equivalent of riding from Melbourne to Perth), they climb mountains as high as 2,645m and have an average speed of 39.79km/h.
One of the most important battles is fought off the road, with teams doing everything possible to help their riders recover. Central to recovery is ensuring the athletes get enough food, as the average Tour De France rider requires between 5,000-8,000 calories per day. To put this in context that equates to approximately 28 cheeseburgers. However cyclists require high quality foods – rich in carbohydrates and protein, low in fat, which supply all the nutrients and vitamins they need to function. The picture above is what Andy Schleck eats and below is the diet of Thor Hushovd….for a day!!
Tour De France Riders Daily Diet
| Breakfast: |
| Oatmeal, toast with ham 2-egg omelette Cereal Rice |
| On the bike: |
| 4-6 Energy bars 2 packs Energy chews 2-3 Energy gels 6-8 bottles of team race drink Rice cake Small panini sandwich |
| On the bus after the stage: |
| Rice and curry chicken or tortilla la patata 2 bottles of team recovery protein drink |
| Dinner: |
| Stuffed tomatoes and zucchini with curry rice Beet salad Avocados Spaghetti Stewed turkey with prunes |
| Dessert: |
| Sorbet |
Source: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/food-for-men/thor-hushovd-tour-diet-070511#ixzz1veYwCwr6
Photo: http://twitpic.com/5p76z8