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What will the riders have for breakfast?
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This will involve normal breakfast foods like porridge, Greek yoghurt, eggs, fruit smoothies (mixed berries, bananas, oranges, apples) and vegetable juices (leafy and green veg). Rice, pasta and quinoa will also be available.
Bars or gels?
Riders will save gels until the last third of long stages. This is when the pace is usually stepped up and fast absorbing carbohydrate is needed. They will aim to consume 60-90 grams of carbohydrate per hour during high intensity sections. .
Will the riders eat ‘real food’ on the bike?
Riders don’t just consume bars and gels while on the bike. Foods that are high GI such as rice cakes, sandwiches and paninis are also consumed as these foods are broken down quickly and used for energy.
How much will the riders drink?
Fluid intake will depend on the conditions that the riders are faced with. Some riders may lose up to 2 litres of sweat per hour in warm conditions. It is Important to offset this by taking in fluids to ensure that the rider does not become so dehydrated that it affects performance.
When will the riders consume caffeine?
Caffeine is one of the most researched aids in endurance sports, which may help improve endurance performance, concentration and alertness. The riders will rely on SiS GO Energy + Caffeine gels to give them a mental edge when the intensity steps up. Most of the riders will normally use between 2-3 caffeine gels; one around 60 minutes before the intense stage and then another around 30 minutes before.
How is fuelling for a sprint different to a long distance stage?
For a Time-Trial, the riders generally won’t consume anything during the race due to the short length. Emphasis is on pre and post race nutrition, ensuring that the riders energy stores are fully topped up.
How do the riders recover for the next stage?
Recovery starts as soon as the riders finish a stage. After a tough, mountain stage, riders will consume SiS REGO Rapid Recovery, which contains specific amounts of carbohydrate, protein and electrolytes within the ‘training window’. This 30-minute period is the ideal time to take on protein and carbohydrate as the metabolism stays high, quickly providing the muscles with what they need to recover.
After flat stages, riders will consume a protein only shake. Riders will replace all of the fluid lost through sweat, and extra to increase hydration levels; SiS GO Hydro will help the riders retain the fluid. On the bus back to the hotel, they will eat chicken, salmon, potatoes, rice, pasta and drink fruit smoothies, this provides a dense nutritional profile and ensures energy levels are restored.
We actually stretch our the recovery process the whole way to the nest stage by ensuring the first bottle each rider consumes on the bike is a protein drink, either SiS Advanced Isolate+ or SiS Whey Protein, this ensures a high level of amino acids are readily available.
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