The Cyclist’s Diet

Nutrition is the means by which people take in and absorb, besides nutrients, the energy they need. The purpose of nutrition is to compensate, through an adequate supply of nutrients, for the energy and biological materials consumed by basal and functional metabolism. For cyclists, this compensation has to be particularly precise, because the best performances can only come from the combination of optimal training and proper nutrition. At whatever level the sport is practiced, the way you eat is fundamental to a successful athletic performance and above all to safeguarding the athlete’s health. Bad eating habits, a monotonous diet and insufficient food knowledge can in fact increase the risk of developing various types of disease and, more generally, lead to a state of poor bodily efficiency.

Nutrition before the race

The main goal of pre-race nutrition is to keep blood glucose levels steady. This sugar is a precious fuel for muscles and brain; it can also be stored as an energy reserve, in the form of glycogen in the muscles and liver.

In the hours before the race it is very easy to make nutritional mistakes. Some mistakes don’t affect performance because some cyclists have excellent digestive abilities and so manage to compensate. Other mistakes, however, cause a decline in physical efficiency without the cyclist even realizing it. The best time to eat is at least 3 hours before the start of the pre-race warm-up.

Nutrition during the race

The purpose of nutrition during the race is to replace a good part of the water and salts lost through sweat. The body’s loss of large amounts of water and minerals can cause a decrease in physical efficiency, with possible cramps and a drop in mental performance as a result of rising body temperature. To avoid this, it is useful for the cyclist to pre-hydrate, that is, to drink plenty well before starting the pre-race warm-up.

Nutrition after the race

The purpose of post-race nutrition is to replace the water and salt losses, promote the resynthesis of the muscle glycogen used up, repair the structural damage resulting from the effort, and avoid further metabolic overload. It is advisable to drink and sip a large amount of fluids, remembering that in this case the sense of thirst may not be enough to meet the real need for the fluids lost through sweating.

The depletion of muscle glycogen reserves must be stopped and replaced as soon as possible. In fact, even though it normally takes about 20 hours to restore these stores, the first two hours after the race are the most important for paying off this debt.

Another aspect not to be overlooked is the wear on muscle tissue caused by athletic performance, which induces high protein catabolism, which the body must deal with without adding further overload in disposing of the waste produced. It is therefore essential to provide animal-source protein, which performs this function better because it contains all the essential amino acids. Conversely, it is best to avoid excessive protein intake, so as to limit the production of nitrogenous waste.