I surveyed what racers on the Garmin Cérvelo, Sky and Radioshack teams eat during stage races. A racer burns 3,500 to 4,000 calories on an average day in the Tour de France and 5,000 to 5,500 on a big day. Here’s what I learned.

• Breakfast is big. Racers eat a big breakfast so they start off with a full load of fuel and eat several hours before the race to allow time for the meal to digest.
• Riders drink a lot. Depending on conditions, riders down 1-3 16 fl. oz. (0.5 L) bottles every hour.
• Riders eat a lot. Even though they are racing hard, racers consume 300 or more calories an hour.
• Fuel sources. At race paces, riders are burning almost exclusively glycogen (from carbohydrates) for energy.
• Carbohydrates. Racers eat primarily carbohydrates with a high glycemic index for instant energy.
• Glycemic Index (GI). GI measures how fast a food causes your blood glucose to rise. Glucose has a GI of 100. Sushi rice, favored by the pros, has a GI of 85.
• Variety counts. To keep eating and drinking hour after hour, racers have a lot of choices so that they can find something palatable.
• Recovery begins immediately. Riders start drinking and eating as soon as they get in the team bus; they don’t wait until they are back at the hotel.

I used what I learned to develop recipes for sports food that we can make at home that is:

• more nutritious
• tastier
• less expensive

For example, this homemade sports drink costs just $0.11 per 100 calories compared to $0.75 for pre-mixed commercial drink:

• 1/3 cup (80 ml) orange juice
• 12 teaspoons (50 g) sucrose (table sugar), glucose or maltodextrin (a starch)
• 1/4 teaspoon (1.2 ml) salt
• water to make 1 quart (0.95 L)

The homemade drink is also closer to the American College of Sports Medicine’s recommendations:

Per 8 fl. oz. (240 ml)
	ACSM	Coach Hughes	Gatorade
Calories	48-96	56	60
Sodium	120-170 mg	148 mg	110 mg
Potassium	19-46 mg	36 mg	30 mg

Here are a couple more recipes. Racers often eat panini:

• ½ croissant or soft roll (so it’s easy to chew) sliced and filled with:
• a slice of ham or Canadian bacon
• cream cheese
• jam

Boiled potatoes are easy to make, tastier than an energy bar and cheaper:

• boil 1 lb. (1/2 kg) small new red potatoes, about 15
• while warm, roll around in a pan with:
• 1 cup (90 g) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
• salt

More Information

• Nutrition for 100K and Beyond: Cycling nutrition, hydration and electrolytes — my 16-page eArticle for $4.99 from RoadBikeRider.com.
• Eating & Drinking Like the Pros: Expert advice on cycling nutrition and how to make your own healthy nutrition at lower cost — my 15-page eArticle for $4.99 from RoadBikeRider.com.
• Optimal Hydration — Develop your personal hydration and electrolyte plan. 21 page eArticle for $4.99 from RoadBikeRider.com.
• Other articles by Coach Hughes from RoadBikeRider.com