Nutrition & Hydration Protocol
This nutrition & hydration protocol is based on the specific requirements of the Tour, the most up-to-date knowledge in sports nutrition, and the results of hydration testing with some members of the team. By following the guidelines in this protocol you can expect to be well prepared for the tour, well fuelled and hydrated during riding, and enhance your recovery and ability to perform several days in a row.
Preparation for the tour
Preparation for an endurance event like the Tour De Cure begins 2 to 3 days beforehand. At this time it is best to minimise the amount of training in order to store vital fuel for the body, in the form of carbohydrate. Training during this time uses up carbohydrate and limits your performance come Day 1.
Carbohydrate loading is the process of eating and storing a large amount of carbohydrate, to be used during endurance activities. As well as reducing the amount of exercise you do, it also requires a large increase in the amount of carbohydrate eaten.
This will continue throughout the tour. Sources of carbohydrate include breakfast cereals, bread, fruit and juice, pasta, rice, starchy vegetables, low fat yoghurt and flavoured milk, sugar, lollies, soft drinks and sports drinks, and should be the focus of meals and snacks. Avoid foods high in fat such as take-aways, fried foods, chocolate and high fat snacks as these will not help fuel up and will get in the way of the large amount of carbohydrate needed to be eaten.
The amount of food to eat in this time is much greater than normal. Try to eat 1˝ to 2 times the amount of carbohydrate foods at each meal (eg. more cereal or toast, more sandwiches, bigger serves of pasta and rice). More processed varieties are actually better for this as they are less filling – white bread, Rice Bubbles, white rice, etc. Also try and add in other high carbohydrate snacks in between such as toast, dry biscuits, banana and honey sandwiches, fruit juice, low fat flavoured milk and soft drink. The more the better – it is almost impossible to eat too much carbohydrate at this time.
Fuelling road cyclists
Not getting enough carbohydrate to fuel athletes results in severe fatigue. This is because the body then has to rely on fat burning to provide energy – this requires much more oxygen and is slower, which causes you to have to slow down or stop exercising. The phenomenon of running out of carbohydrate is referred to by marathon runners as “hitting the wall”. The difference here is that you have to repeat your efforts every day for over a week, so if you start each day with less carbs stored in your body than the one before the likely result is “hitting the wall” after a few days of riding.
Tour De France cyclists are some of the world’s best studied. We know their carbohydrate needs are over 1000g a day (compared to the average person who eats 200-300!) and their body uses over 30,000kJ a day (most of us use 6-10,000kJ on a normal day). In fact their need for carbohydrate is so high that they have to use glucose drips to meet their requirements, as eating that much is not humanly possible!
The Tour de Cure is obviously not as strenuous or as long as the French race, however your needs are still very high (up to 20,000kJ and 850g carbs/day for the bigger guys). As we also don’t have the luxury of glucose drips, the amount of food needed is going to be quite large. The catering has therefore been organised to provide very high carbohydrate, low fat meals, in large enough quantities to try and achieve this with as little discomfort as possible.
Meal Plan for the Tour De Cure
Liaising with our catering sponsor, Canadian Kitchen, a meal plan has been developed which should provide you with all the carbohydrates, protein and fluid you will need each day. This however will only work if you are able to eat everything listed in the table below. The smaller guys and girls will not require quite as much and can skip a few items if they don’t feel comfortable eating that amount, but for the bigger guys in the team this is really the minimum you will need to get you fuelled each day and prevent significant fatigue occurring as the tour goes on. As cyclists you use an enormous amount of energy each time you ride over 100km a day, and to be able to repeat this for 9 days out of 10 is a tough challenge. Below is the meal plan, and what needs to be selected at each meal:
| Meal | Minimum amount to be eaten |
|---|---|
| Light Breakfast before riding: |
1 X Banana smoothie 1 cup cereal w/ low fat milk OR 2 slices toast w/ jam/honey |
| Cooked Breakfast after ~1hr of riding: |
1 Large Item (eg. pancakes, bircher muesli, etc.)
1 Smaller Item (eg. muffin, 2 slices raisin toast, orange juice, etc.) |
| During Riding: |
550mL Powerade every hour of riding
200mL water every hour of riding 1 sachet GU every 2 hours of riding |
| Lunch: |
1 Main item (eg. 2 sandwiches or 1 hot meal)
1 dessert item (eg. low fat cake, banana, etc.) |
| Immediately after finishing riding for the day: |
1000mL Powerade
1 Cereal/muesli bar 1 Banana or tub low fat yoghurt |
| Aftenoon/evening snacks: |
1000mL water
1 piece fruit OR 1 Cereal/muesli bar |
| Dinner: | A low fat choice based on carbohydrate (eg. pasta, rice or potato based dish) |
Hints
Scull about 200mL of your first hour’s Powerade about 10 minutes before you start riding or after a meal break. This will help the stomach empty quicker than just sipping on it, which will help you feel more comfortable on the bike.
When you finish riding for the day eat your recovery foods (Powerade, snacks as above) as soon as possible. The body maximises carbohydrate storage in the first 1-2 hours after exercise. If you miss this window of opportunity you will struggle to fully recover for the next day’s riding and risk fatiguing badly.
Your dinner meals will often be eaten out, at functions or pubs. Make sure you choose an option high in carbohydrate and low in fat to continue to aid your recovery. Pasta dishes should be based on tomato sauces rather than cream or pesto, rice dishes should avoid cheesy risottos and deep fried Asian meals, and steer away from the chips if possible (mashed or roasted potato will be better).
Be careful with alcohol – it will increase swelling from any strains, bumps and tears and make them much more sore and bruised come the morning.
Despite popular belief, caffeine in drinks does not create enough of a diuretic effect to lose fluid. The water in your cup of coffee will more than offset the fluid loss from the caffeine. You may feel more inclined to go to the toilet, but this is likely due to the fact that you just drank fluid rather than the caffeine itself. Large doses of caffeine without fluid (eg. No Doze tablets) however will cause some loss of fluid. So don’t worry about having your morning cuppa!
Thanks to Recover Sports Medicine.
