What do the cyclists in the Tour de France eat?

Question

for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

AND what is in their feed bags they recieve?

Answer 1

They eat because they burn tons of calories.

They would typically eat stuff that is high in carbs and plenty of liquids.

Answer 2

I read they usually receive some sort of sandwich or "panini" in their feed bags, which are small enough to fit into their jersey pockets.

On the tour, they burn on average 8k calories per stage.

I would imagine for breakfast they would have loads of carbs, e.g. pasta or risotto, etc.

Lunch they would be on the bike - loads of energy gel/bars and whatever is in the feed bag.

Dinner - I would assume loads of complex carbs, so they'll have a lot of energy by the morning.

Answer 3

Did a google search,and found an interesting news article.

It is from 2004,  but I daresay it is still reasonably relevant.

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.j...

In The Lance Armstrong Performance Program (Rodale Books, £10.99), a training guide he co-wrote last year, Texan-born Armstrong, who lives in Spain with rock star girlfriend Sheryl Crow, revealed fascinating details about the fuel that powers him to victory.

For breakfast, before a race, he eats tagliatelle(pasta) with an egg on top, a sprinking of Parmesan and some shredded basil. A little protein, contained in the egg, helps to break down carbohydrates and replenish and maintain carbohydrate storage. He also drinks between eight and 16 ounces of a sports drink.

For a ride of four to six hours, cyclists competing in the Tour need 7,000 calories a day. Lunch is prepared by the team trainer, and typically consists of small sandwiches containing honey and chopped bananas, or smoked turkey with cream cheese, plus energy bars and fruit, such as peeled apples.

These lunches are dispensed to the riders en route: the trainer stands at the side of the road, holding out a light cloth bag called a musette. The cyclist rides past, holding out an arm, and transfers the contents to his rear jersey pockets.

To avoid dehydration, the riders drink four to eight ounces every 10 to 15 minutes. Most of us would be hard pressed to keep the handlebars steady, with so much eating and drinking going on, but, as if all that wasn't enough, after a gruelling day's cycling, riders can't put their feet up.

This is because the 30 minutes after exercise is the "glycogen window", when the body needs to replace the carbohydrate storage in the body. Glycogen depletion is a key cause of exhaustion, and so cyclists must quickly eat potatoes, pasta, rice or muesli. Later in the evening, Armstrong's dinner comprises lean steak or grilled chicken,

During the final week of the race, when riders are drawing on all their energy reserves, they tend to cut back on foods that require more effort to digest, such as fresh vegetables, and much of their food is pureed

Answer 4

snails and cheese