Ever wondered what the professional cyclist eats during a stage race? OTE Sports and Lotto NL Jumbo bring you the inside scoop on what the riders eat during the Giro d’Italia.

 Breakfast

 A rider’s breakfast varies depending on the person and can also vary depending on the stage profile. When a stage has more mountains and the riders use more energy (which we are sure you can imagine), breakfast needs to be different than before a (relatively) shorter or flatter stages.

 

In general, the riders start their day with oatmeal and/or bread with an omelet with added toppings like ham and cheese. Team chef Jesper Boom always prepares those meals. Every rider likes their oatmeal in a different way. Some of them want it to be made with milk, others with water. Some like it thick, others thin. They then add fresh fruit, dried fruits, nuts or a nut butter to the oatmeal. Before the harder stages, most of our riders choose to eat white rice at breakfast, seeing as it’s full of quick release carbohydrates and it is easy to digest. 

 

Remember: The important thing about nutrition is that everybody is different with varying preferences and requirements. It is important that every rider meets their own nutritional demands before the stage, so they can perform to the best of their ability. This is why you will often see riders eating different things in the morning.

 

During the stage

 

Just before the start of a stage the riders eat a sandwich with a fruit jam filling and they have a cup of coffee. 

 

Did you know? The caffeine content of coffee helps to reduce the perception of effort, which can become increasingly more important to riders as the 3 week stage race goes on. Team LottoNL-Jumbo have two coffee machines on their bus for the riders to use.

 

What they eat during the stage depends on the route, the time it will take to complete the stage and the weather. If they are riding a hard mountain stage, the focus is on carbohydrates. They try to eat 90 grams of carbohydrates every hour. To achieve this the riders use OTE Sports Nutrition products (such as gels, energy drink and bars) and eat sandwiches filled with jam or chocolate spread. Also, the riders use muesli bars and rice cakes. If it’s really hot during a stage, the riders mostly eat liquid foods, like gels. If it’s not that hot, the riders mostly eat solid foods.

 

Did you know? OTE Sports products are all naturally flavoured and pH neutral, making them easy on the stomach to help eliminate the possibility of getting stomach ache. When the intensity starts to ramp up at important points in a stage, energy gels and energy drinks are convenient ways to quickly get energy on board.

 

After a stage, the riders first drink an OTE Whey recovery shake, which contains quickly absorbed protein and carbohydrates. After they take a shower on the bus, they get a hot recovery meal, which mainly consists of rice, pasta or potatoes. Getting a mix of both carbohydrates and protein is a very important part of recovery. The carbohydrates are needed to replenish the body’s carbohydrates stores in the muscles and liver, which will have been used up during the stage. The protein is needed to help repair the muscles and recover quickly for the next day.

 

Top Tip: Having a recovery drink or snack within 30 minutes of finishing your exercise or a race is the best time to kick start the recovery process for the next day.

 At the hotel

 When they arrive at the hotel, there are more opportunities to top up the riders carbohydrate stores. Each rider will have a massage scheduled and in the soigneur’s room there is plenty of food for the riders to refuel with. Things like fruit, oatmeal, dried fruits and sports drinks are available and team chef Jesper prepares some sandwiches and fresh jugs of smoothies. 

 

Top Tip: Smoothies are a great way to help to riders refuel and rehydrate after a stage. Also, it helps the riders get the much needed vitamins and minerals to help take care of their immune system during the stage race.

 

After the massages, dinner follows. During the big stage races (Giro, Tour, Vuelta) a meal plan is put together before the race has started by the team’s nutritionist Marcel and chef Jesper. The dinner the night before a shorter or flatter stage is different than dinner before a mountain stage. Before the shorter/flatter stages, a meal will consist of a variety of vegetables, salad, whole-wheat carbohydrates (such as Quinoa, potatoes, pasta), a good piece of meat and for example a fruit salad as a dessert. The dinner before a harder/mountain stage contains more carbohydrates, which is usually white rice. Also, the riders will get a dessert filled with carbohydrates, such as pancakes or a piece of pie.

 An Example Meal before a flatter stage would be:

 - Green salad

- Bulgur wheat

- Brown rice

- Turkey filet with poultry gravy

- Cauliflower and broccoli crème 

- Yogurt with nuts and fruits.

Then it is simply a case of sleep, eat, ride, eat, repeat for three weeks, with two rest days thrown in along the way. Getting the team’s nutrition right is vital for such a big race. 

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