Preparation

 

Tour de Cure puts a lot of focus on all elements that contribute to a safe and successful ride. This includes:

• Proper physical preparation through training and stretching;
• The right nutrition and hydration methods;
• And most importantly, safety on the roads.

We would like to thank all of those organisations who continue to provide the Tour de Cure with this information

 

                                                       

 

 

Bunch Riding Etiquette

Tour de Cure aims to be recognised as the most responsible cycling peloton on Australian roads. To that extent Tour de Cure have developed a “Tour de Cure Bunch Riding Etiquette.”

Download the Tour de Cure Bunch Riding Etiquette (PDF)

 

Nutrition & Hydration Protocol

Riding on both short and long rides needs each rider to take care of all their nutrition and hydration during their training and on the Tour de Cure ride. With days covering 120kms to 265kms this year it has never been more important for each individual to understand what their bodies will need . We have kindly been supported by Alan McCubbin and Recover Sports Medecine all aspects of Nutrition & Hydration Protocoll

Managing you hydration before, during and after any ride is essential

Tour de Cure 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

Nutritional preparation for the Tour de Cure needs to start now. The number one priority at this stage is getting the body used to the quantity of food it will need during the event. There are two aspects to this, making sure you are eating enough to adequately carbohydrate load, and to make sure you get enough carbohydrate in whilst riding.

Fuelling up on the road - David Lo & Geoff Coombes

Carbohydrate intake whilst riding

The game has changed in terms of carbohydrate recommendations for endurance exercise in the past 12-18 months. It has now been shown that taking in 60 grams per hour of glucose PLUS 30 grams an hour of fructose an hour will maximise exercise performance. Extra glucose or fructose (two different types of carbohydrates) above these levels does not improve performance further and increases the risk of gastrointestinal discomfort.

We are very fortunate to again have Powerade supplying sports drink, but unfortunately we weren’t able to get the supply of gels we’ve had in previous years. We do have some though, but not enough to be ideal, therefore eating during the meal breaks will become even more important. Therefore my recommendation on the bike would be to try and drink 500mL of Powerade every hour and 1 gel every hour or two, but no gels in the first hour after a meal break (we will have to rely on the carbs at these stops to save the gels for later). This will provide pretty close to the ideal amount of glucose and fructose. At meal stops I will have a whiteboard to indicate what and how much to eat to achieve your carb requirements.
If you think that eating and drinking that much is a tough ask then my strong advice is to practice doing it as early as possible, and as many times as it takes to get used to it. The body can adapt to become used to this, and the reality is that if you’re not providing enough carbohydrate you are going to fatigue a lot more. Over one day’s riding this may not make a huge difference, by day 6, 7 or 8 you will start to notice a massive difference between the guys who are eating enough carbohydrate and the ones that are struggling.

Arriving in Brisbane fully carbohydrate loaded

Preparation for an endurance event like the Tour De Cure needs to begin 2 to 3 days beforehand. At this time it is best to minimise the amount of training in order to store vital glycogen, the body’s storage form of carbohydrate. Training during this time uses up carbohydrate and limits your ability to ride come Day 1.

Carbohydrate loading is the process of eating and storing the maximum amount of carbohydrate in your muscles and liver, which can then be used during endurance exercise. It requires a massive amount of carbohydrate to be eaten in the two to three days before the evnet. This will continue throughout the tour to keep up with the constant demand for carbs you will place on the body. Even though this is not a race, you will still have a large demand for carbs.

Having worked with the Melbourne Triathlon Club’s ironman triathletes, it becomes obvious that most people have little concept of exactly how much carbohydrate needs to be eaten to properly carb load. At a half-ironman I conducted a study whereby the Melb Tri Club athletes recorded everything they ate for the two days prior to the race. I then analysed their diets and compared the amount of carbs they actually ate to what they ideally needed. The results certainly shocked me: only one of the 16 athletes tested adequately carb loaded and five of them didn’t even achieve 50% of their required carbohydrate quantity!

So exactly how much carbohydrate do you need? For guys it’s 12 grams of carbs for every kilogram of body weight. 10 grams per kilo for girls. For example, an 80kg guy would need 12 X 80 = 960 grams of carbohydrate a day for the two days beforehand.  To put that in perspective one slice of bread gives you 15 grams, one cup of cooked pasta gives you 35 grams and 1 litre of soft drink or cordial provides 120 grams.

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-away, 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. I’ve attached a page at the end which gives you an idea of how much food I’m talking about, it’s a lot! More processed varieties are actually better for this as they are less filling – white bread, jam and honey, lollies, Rice Bubbles, etc. Liquids are also a good one, as they provide a lot of carbs without being too filling. It is impossible to eat too much carbohydrate at this time.

One thing I can’t emphasise enough is that in the two or three days before the first day of riding everything that goes in your mouth needs to be specifically chosen because it’s high in carbs and low in fat. Eating large amounts of protein foods (meat, fish, chicken, eggs, nuts) or fatty foods is very filling, and you will then struggle to get enough carbs in.

Food and fluid Plan for the 2009 Tour De Cure

Fluid losses vary a lot from one person to the next, but in general you need to aim to drink around 500mL of fluid every hour when you’re on the bike, more if it’s very hot or you’re a very heavy sweater. This may not seem important for an event like this, but after several hours of riding when you come to a hill, you will notice whether you’re well hydrated or not!

Hints

Scull about 200-300mL of 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 (sports drink, snacks as above) as soon as possible (ie. within 15 minutes of getting off the bike). 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. Try and choose an option high in carbohydrate to continue to aid your recovery.

Be careful with alcohol if you’re sore – it will increase the swelling from any strains, bumps and tears and make them much worse 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. Caffeine has also shown to have a beneficial effect on endurance exercise performance, by making the brain feel the body is not working as hard as it really is. So don’t worry about having your morning cuppa (or 2 or 3)!

 

CARB LOADING FOR A 60KG ATHLETE

To follow for two days prior to the event

Meal	Minimum amount to be eaten
Breakfast	1 ½ cups Corn Flakes or other similar cereal with 300mL low fat milk 2 slices of toast (white or fruit bread) with ½ Tb of jam or honey 500mL fruit juice
Morning Tea	1 banana & 600mL bottle of soft drink, cordial or juice
Lunch:	2 Sandwiches (low fat fillings) 500mL bottle of low fat flavoured milk or soft drink or cordial
Aftenoon/evening snacks:	200g tub of low fat yoghurt 250mL soft drink, cordial or juice
Dinner:	2 cups cooked pasta with tomato based sauce 200g tub low fat yoghurt 250mL soft drink, cordial or juice
Super:	Vegemite sandwich or 2 muesli bars 600mL soft drink, cordial or juice

 

CARB LOADING FOR A 70KG ATHLETE

To follow for two days prior to the event

Meal	Minimum amount to be eaten
Breakfast	2 cups Corn Flakes or other similar cereal with 300mL low fat milk 2 slices of toast (white or fruit bread) with 1 Tb of jam or honey 500mL fruit juice
Morning Tea	1 banana & 600mL bottle of soft drink, cordial or juice
Lunch:	2 Sandwiches (low fat fillings) 500mL bottle of low fat flavoured milk or soft drink or cordial
Aftenoon/evening snacks:	200g tub of low fat yoghurt 250mL soft drink, cordial or juice
Dinner:	2 cups cooked pasta with tomato based sauce 200g tub low fat yoghurt 250mL soft drink, cordial or juice
Super:	Jam or honey sandwich (1/2 Tb of jam) 2 muesli bars 600mL soft drink, cordial or juice

 

CARB LOADING FOR A 80KG ATHLETE

To follow for two days prior to the event

Meal	Minimum amount to be eaten
Breakfast	2 cups Corn Flakes or other similar cereal with 300mL low fat milk 2 slices of toast (white or fruit bread) with 1 Tb of jam or honey 500mL fruit juice
Morning Tea	1 banana & honey sandwich (1/2  Tb of honey) 10 snakes (lollies) 600mL bottle of soft drink, cordial or juice
Lunch:	2 Sandwiches (low fat fillings) 600mL bottle of low fat flavoured milk or soft drink or cordial
Aftenoon/evening snacks:	200g tub of low fat yoghurt Jam or honey sandwich (1/2 Tb of jam) 500mL soft drink, cordial or juice
Dinner:	2 cups cooked pasta with tomato based sauce 200g tub low fat yoghurt 600mL soft drink, cordial or juice
Super:	2 Jam or honey sandwiches (1/2 Tb of jam in each) 2 muesli bars 600mL soft drink, cordial or juice 10 snakes (lollies)

 

Stretching

Download the Tour de Cure- ‘Fit to Ride’ program (156KB pdf)

Day 3, Tour de Cure 2008 - Stretching was an essential end to every ride