A professional cyclist tackling a mountain stage of the Tour de France may need up to 10,000 calories in a single day. Consuming that much energy is just one of the nutritional challenges facing riders during cycling’s most demanding race.
We tapped Job van Leeuwen, Performance Nutritionist at Team Picnic PostNL, to give us a peek into the real challenges faced by pro cyclists to achieve optimal nutritional intake on the race course. The tough day-to-day demands of an event like the Tour de France, multiplied by three weeks of competition, turns nearly every aspect of race preparation and strategy into an exact science, and nutrition is no exception.
Job tells us how the team uses up4™ products to deliver the precise nutrition their athletes need and to gain an edge in competition.
Challenge #1: Getting enough calories
One of the biggest challenges for cyclists in the Tour de France? Getting enough calories. For example, an 80-kilogram cyclist tackling a tough mountain stage will need approximately 9,600 calories that day. That’s the same as eating roughly 30 cheeseburgers—a nearly impossible task during an intense athletic event.
“In addition to being a bike race, the Tour de France is really an eating challenge,” says Job. “It’s a huge amount that the cyclists need.”
That’s where specialized nutrition like up4™ comes in. Iso-drinks, energy bars, and energy gels help support the cyclists with additional calories that also keep their glycogen levels topped up for optimal performance.
As a nutritionist, Job supports the cyclist by using data and personalized insights to adapt the cyclists’ daily nutrition strategy to their personal characteristics (such as height, weight, and rider type) as well as their individual daily race volume and intensity.
Products like up4™ are added on top of smartly-planned and personalized pre- and post-race meals to ensure riders get all the fuel they need.
Challenge #2: Optimizing carbohydrate absorption
It’s not only calories that matter. How those calories are delivered matters, too. Carbohydrates (sugar) are the preferred source of energy for most athletes, owing to the fact that it’s the fastest form of fuel. Sugar starts fueling your muscles in as little as 15-20 minutes after consumption.
The only downside? There is a limit to how much sugar your body can store in the form of glycogen, as well as how much sugar you can realistically digest.
Sports nutrition experts have been working to push the boundaries of how much carbohydrate an athlete can consume. It was previously believed that the upper limit for absorption was 60 grams of glucose per hour of intense exercise.
However, performance nutrition scientists have discovered that a precise mix of glucose and fructose in the right combination (1:0.8 glucose to fructose) increases this upper limit considerably. This breakthrough, captured in a 2011 study (O’Brien et al), has allowed athletes to take in more usable energy during competition, up to 120 grams per hour, helping them to maintain performance for longer while reducing the risk of gastrointestinal discomfort.
“The nice thing is that all of the up4™ products contain the ideal ratio of 1:0.8 glucose to fructose,” says Job. “Also, all of the products are low fat and fiber—even the bars, which is quite special—which is optimal for in-race intake. This new range of up4™ products really helps us to have high carb intakes without gut issues.”
Challenge #3: Overcoming flavor fatigue
Imagine eating sugary bars, gels, and sports drinks day after day, for three weeks straight. Eventually, even your favorite flavor would start to lose its appeal. This is called “flavor fatigue,” and it’s a real risk to athletes if it means they don’t eat or drink as much as they need.
“All in-race fueling products are high in sugar, so they’re very sweet,” explains Job. “If you have to take this day after day, hour after hour, this can become not nice anymore. You just don’t want to eat those foods anymore, even though you need them—and that’s the issue with flavor fatigue.”
To overcome this, up4™ products have been formulated to provide the ideal flavor for each fueling moment. During exercise, especially when weather conditions are hot, athletes don’t want super sweet flavors. According to one study, an athlete’s taste sensitivity to sweetness actually increases with physical fatigue (Narukawa et al, 2009). The challenge is to develop products that are high in sugar for fueling, but taste less sweet to the athletes.
Our up4™ range of products have been formulated with flavor experts to achieve this balance. Citrus flavors, for instance, are more refreshing and are perceived as less sweet. A range of flavors and formats also gives the riders flavor diversity. Job might prepare an iso drink, a bar, and two gels for his athletes each hour during competition, a strategy which also helps to prevent flavor fatigue.
What can everyday athletes learn from the pros?
The Tour de France is one of the toughest cycling races in the world, requiring high levels of specialized nutrition to keep the cyclists going through the challenging terrain and conditions.
While most athletes won’t face the demands of the Tour de France, the same principles apply: Consume enough energy, maximize carbohydrate intake, and use products that you actually enjoy consuming. These insights helped shape the development of up4™ for Team Picnic PostNL, and we’re bringing these road-tested products to athletes of all levels.
Want to try it for yourself? Take a look at our featured products below.
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