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This cliché with the mountains of pasta is actually not quite so wrong. The "old generation" of cyclists, as Hannah Grant calls them - by which she means those at their peak in the 90s and early 2000s - really and truly demanded pasta with ketchup from the then young team chef. As a source of quick energy, this admittedly unpalatable combination of durum wheat and sugar was even somehow acceptable. But as far as digestibility, sustainability in the blood, help with regeneration after exercise and the provision of nutrients other than calorific values are concerned, chefs, nutritionists and athletes all agree, at least today: an absolute disaster!
One of the pioneers in changing the diet of cyclists from blunt calorie fattening to a targeted intake of the required nutrients, taking into account issues such as enjoyment, recovery and tolerance, is Hannah Grant. The young Dane was recruited to the team of 1996 Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis in 2010. As team manager, the former professional wanted to boost performance through nutrition, as he himself was more of the older generation. As the first female team chef and with this upheaval on her to-do list, she didn't have an easy start. In competitive sport, it is generally very difficult to overturn paradigms that have led to years and decades of success. Top athletes only have a limited amount of time to prove themselves, and many are reluctant to take the risk of breaking new ground and perhaps achieving the exact opposite.
The Danish chef has already used her experience from six seasons as part of a world-class team, her insights from working with top athletes and her acquaintances with the professionals themselves in several cookery books. Her basic attitude: food must not only provide everything her protégés need, but also ensure enjoyment, relaxation and mental balance.
Book tip for cyclists
The new "Grand Tour Cookbook" is a compilation of recipes that Hannah has either prepared for her athletes during a Grand Tour - the three three-week tours in the professional teams' racing calendar - or that one of the top pros has contributed to the collection themselves. Modern professional cyclists such as Kasper Asgreen, Rick Zabel and Michal Morkov focus on their nutrition throughout the year and do not always have a professional chef at their side. Some of them develop unexpected cooking talents. In addition to the cooking instructions, the book therefore repeatedly draws links between the products used and their place in an athlete's diet. Hannah Grant explains briefly but clearly what is needed when and by whom, and just as importantly, what may be detrimental to performance or regeneration.
The almost 350-page book is peppered with anecdotes from racing, everyday life in the hustle and bustle of a world-class team, sound bites from old masters such as Jens Voigt and super-helpful cooking basics. This makes the "Grand Tour Cookbook" not only interesting for racers! On the contrary, the focus on the topics of enjoyment and optimum preparation and follow-up for physical exertion is just as important for hobby cyclists and touring cyclists.
Even the day before a relaxed ride, you should make sure that your energy stores are full on the road with your meals, that you don't rob yourself of valuable energy resources with hard-to-digest food and that everything is done to allow your body to recover quickly after a day in the saddle.
And to ensure that this doesn't end in a pasta binge or, as described in the case of Eddy Merckx, three steaks a day, we can only recommend Hannah Grant's recipes. We have selected three three-course menus as examples. We have chosen potatoes and rice in particular as sources of carbohydrates; the latter in particular is easy to digest. Proteins and animal fats preferably come from fish or chicken, often combined with fruity flavours. These help to provide a little more protein for regeneration in the evening after a tour, for example. And very important for cyclists: dessert should never be missing, along with the obligatory coffee or espresso.
A cappuccino and a slice of cake at the turning point are often the motivation for training laps of well over 200 kilometres.
But: What works for professionals on a large scale also works for hobby cyclists a few sizes smaller!
The new Grand Tour cookbook 2.0
- Author: Hannah Grant
- ISBN: 978-3-95726-080-2
- Price: 47 Euro >> e.g. available at Amazon
- Covadonga publishing house
- Pages 352 - Hardcover
Menu 1
Chicken and mango salad à la MICHAEL MØRKØV*
Preparation: 10 minutes
Difficulty: 1 of 3
2-3 portions
INGREDIENTS
Salad
- 300 g cold, cooked chicken
- 400 g brown rice, cooked
- Lettuce (lettuce, lettuce, etc.)
- 1 mango
- 1 red onion
- 1 lime
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 150 g small tomatoes
- 50 g peanuts, roasted
- ½ bunch of mint
- ½ bunch coriander or Thai basil
"Houle*-Fuel" dressing
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 organic lime, juice and zest
- ½ tsp ginger, finely grated
* Michael Mørkøv and Hugo Houle are successful professional cyclists from Denmark and Canada.
PREPARATION
1 Cut the chicken into small pieces.
2 Wash the lettuce and tear into bite-sized pieces.
3 Dice the mango.
4 Peel the red onion and cut into thin strips, then marinate the onion strips in the lime juice and maple syrup.
5 Wash and slice the tomatoes.
6 Chop the peanuts.
7 Blend the dressing and mix with the other ingredients. Flavour with salt and lime juice.
8 Serve the salad on deep plates and garnish with roasted peanuts and fresh herbs.
Baked sweet potato with goat's cheese cream and dukkah
Preparation: 60 minutes
Difficulty: 1 of 3
4 portions
INGREDIENTS
- 1 large sweet potato
- 200 g goat's cheese (creamy)
- 1 organic lemon, juice and zest
- 100 g Greek yoghurt
- 100 g hazelnuts, peeled
- 50 g sesame seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin (whole)
- ½ bunch of dill
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil
PREPARATION
1 Preheat the oven to 170 °C.
2 Cut the sweet potato into quarters lengthways.
3. place cut side up on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 45-50 minutes until nice and soft.
4 For the dukkah spice mix, roast the nuts, sesame seeds, coriander seeds and cumin seeds in a frying pan without adding any fat until the flavours develop. Leave to cool and chop in a universal chopper. Flavour with salt.
5 Mix the goat's cheese and yoghurt and stir in the salt, pepper, lemon juice and lemon zest.
6 Serve the sweet potato with the goat's cheese cream, dukkah, a little olive oil and fresh dill.
Race cakes with cherries
Preparation: 35 minutes
Difficulty: 1 of 3
12 pieces
INGREDIENTS
- 300 g sweet potatoes, previously baked in their skins (at 200 °C fan oven for approx. 45-50 minutes until soft)
- 4 eggs
- 65 g oat flour
- 2 tbsp almond flour
- 6 Dates
- 2 tbsp honey (solid)
- ½ Vanilla pod (pulp)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 organic lemon, zest and juice
- ½ tbsp salt
- 75 g butter, melted
- 30 g cherries, fresh or frozen
- 2 tbsp almond flour (for the moulds)
PREPARATION
1 Preheat the oven to 170 °C fan oven.
2 Mix together all the ingredients except the butter and cherries.
3. reduce the stirring speed and add the melted butter and incorporate.
4 Flavour the batter with cinnamon, lemon zest and/or honey as required.
5 Grease the muffin cases and dust with almond flour. If using paper cases, add some coconut flour to the bottom.
6 Wash the cherries, if using fresh cherries.
7. spoon the batter into the moulds and carefully press the cherries into the batter. The baking time may vary depending on the size of the moulds and the amount of batter. The moulds should be filled approx. 2.5-3 cm high with batter.
8. bake the race cakes in a fan oven for approx. 25 minutes and without fan oven for approx. 30 minutes. For an even result, turn the moulds once or twice during baking.
9 The race cakes are ready when they are golden brown and firm.
Menu 2
Quinoa bowl
Preparation: 60 minutes
Difficulty: 1 of 3
4 - 6 portions
INGREDIENTS
- 300 g quinoa
- 300 g beetroot
- 1 sweet potato, large
- 200 g cottage cheese
- 25 g pistachios
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Flavouring
- 1 bunch of parsley
- fresh tarragon or dill
- Olive oil
PREPARATION
1 Preheat the oven to 200 °C fan oven.
2 Drizzle the beetroot (unpeeled) with oil and season with salt. Wrap in aluminium foil.
3 Bake the beetroot for 45-50 minutes until soft.
4 Peel the sweet potato and cut into 2 x 2 cm cubes. Add olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until soft and golden in colour.
5 Pour boiling water over the parsley. Leave to cool, shake off the water, chop the leaves and puree together with a little water. Season the parsley puree with salt to taste.
6 Wash and cook the quinoa according to the pack instructions. Leave to stand for approx. 10 minutes and then leave to cool. Mix the quinoa and parsley puree together and arrange the mixture like little mountain peaks on deep plates.
7 Season the cottage cheese with salt and pepper to taste.
8 Chop the pistachios.
9 Peel the beetroot and cut into bite-sized pieces (wearing gloves keeps your hands clean).
10. drape the beetroot, sweet potato and cottage cheese around the quinoa mountains. Garnish with chopped pistachios and freshly ground black pepper.
Fried rice with bulogi sauce
Preparation: 15 minutes
Difficulty: 1 of 3
2 - 4 portions
INGREDIENTS
Bulgogi sauce
- 50 ml soy sauce
- 1 tsp roasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 grated
- Garlic clove
Fried rice
- 400 g cooked rice
- 3 eggs
- 2 red onions
- 250 g broccoli
- 200 g edamame
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt to flavour
PREPARATION
1 Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside.
2 Finely chop the onions and broccoli.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and fry the rice until it is really hot.
4 Add the onions and sauté for 1 minute over a medium heat.
5 Add the rest of the vegetables and cook until soft.
6 Flavour with salt.
7 Push the rice apart in the centre of the pan. Add 1 tbsp of oil to the centre of the bottom of the pan. Crack the eggs into the hole and stir until they are cooked. Then mix everything together well.
8 Season the dish with salt and serve with the bulgogi sauce.
Dulce de leche with baked plums
Preparation: 3.5 hours
Difficulty: 1 of 3
6-8 portions
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tin of condensed milk
- 250 ml cream (38 %)
- 1 kg plums
- 50 g rolled oats, coarse
- 6 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
PREPARATION
1. for the dulce de leche, bring the closed tin of condensed milk to the boil in a pan. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 3 hours. The tin must be covered with water at all times. Leave to cool.
2 Preheat the oven to 170 °C fan oven.
3. mix the rolled oats, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and salt and spread evenly on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
4 Roast in the oven until crispy and golden in colour (approx. 15 minutes). Leave to cool.
5 Turn the oven up to 180 °C.
6 Cut the plums in half, remove the stones and drizzle with 4 tbsp maple syrup and cinnamon.
7. place the plums in an ovenproof dish with a thin base and bake in the oven for 15 minutes until well cooked.
8 Mix a quarter of the cream with 150 g of the cooled dulce de leche.
9. add the rest of the cream and whip everything to a light foam with the mixer.
10 Arrange the plums on a plate and top with the cream and toasted oats.
TIP: For a quick variation, instead of dulce de leche, simply whip the cream with vanilla paste and maple syrup.
Menu 3
World champion pâté made from root vegetables
Preparation: 80 minutes
Difficulty: 2 out of 3
6 portions
INGREDIENTS
- 4 carrots
- 4 beetroot
- 4 parsley roots
- 1 large sweet potato
- 2 red onions
- 2 eggs
- ¼ bunch of fresh thyme
- Some fresh sage
- 50 g butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
PREPARATION
1 Preheat the oven to 160 °C fan oven.
2 Peel the root vegetables.
3 Cut the peeled vegetables into thin slices using a kitchen slicer or food processor. Cut the beetroot last because of the colouring.
4 Finely chop the onion. Wash, pluck and chop the thyme.
5 Melt the butter.
6 Mix equal parts of each of the root vegetables used with the onion, thyme and melted butter and season with salt and pepper.
7 Beat the two eggs with salt and pepper.
8 Line the baking tin with baking paper. Place the sage on the base and layer the root vegetables on top in the following order: first sweet potato, then beetroot, carrots, parsley root and finally sweet potato again.
9 Add half of the beaten eggs after the beetroot and the other half after the carrots.
10. then cover the food with baking paper and bake for approx. 60 minutes until a cooking rod slides effortlessly through the vegetables. The baking time required increases with the height of the tin.
11 After baking, press the pie a little and squeeze out any excess air.
12 For quick use, leave the pâté to cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting.
13 For a perfect result, leave the pâté to cool completely in the fridge before cutting. Then cut the pieces and fry in a pan or heat in the oven.
TIP: For a festive meal, wrap cold pâté in puff pastry and bake in the oven at 200 °C fan oven for 20-25 minutes.
Tuna steak with nectarines and leche de tigre
Preparation: 20 minutes
Difficulty: 1 of 3
4 portions
INGREDIENTS
- 2 red onions 2 nectarines
- 1 green chilli 2 organic limes
- ½ bunch coriander Olive oil
- 400 g tuna, fresh (cut into four 2 cm thick steaks)
- Salt and pepper to taste
PREPARATION
1 Peel the onions and cut into thin slices. Cut the zest of one lime into thin strips and pour the juice of both limes over the onions. Season with a little fine salt.
2 Finely chop the green chilli. For the leche de tigre, pluck and chop the coriander and mix with the lime juice and onions.
3 Cut the nectarines into small cubes and add to the leche.
4 Season the tuna steaks with salt and pepper.
5 Heat the oil in a pan and fry the tuna steaks on both sides for approx. 30-40 seconds. Fry a little longer if the steaks are thicker or need to be well cooked. Many people like the tuna steaks best when they are still raw on the inside. Leave to rest for 1 minute.
6 Cut the tuna steaks into slices and arrange decoratively on a plate. Top with the nectarines and leche de tigre and serve.
TIP: Leche de Tigre is an excellent marinade and suitable for all types of raw fish. If the fish is finely cut into quarters and marinated, the result is a fantastic ceviche.
The yellow tour cake
Preparation: 60 minutes
Difficulty: 1 of 3
1 cake
INGREDIENTS
- 100 g apple sauce
- 100 ml flavourless oil
- 100 ml maple syrup
- 130 g yoghurt ("plant-based")
- 2 eggs ½ tsp salt
- 100 ml water 2 pears
- 70 g rice flour
- 70 g cashews
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 60 g rolled oats
- 100 ml white wine 2 tbsp honey
- 2 organic lemons, juice and
- Peel abrasion
- 100 g pitted Medjool dates, chopped
PREPARATION
1. mix all the liquid ingredients (except the water, wine and honey) with a little turmeric, the ginger and the chopped dates until you have a smooth batter. Preheat the oven to 180 °C fan oven.
2 Mix the remaining dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and add to the dough.
3. peel the pears. Cut one pear into cubes and work into the dough.
4 Cut the second pear into small wedges. Bring the water to the boil with the wine, honey and ½ teaspoon of turmeric. Poach the pear in the cooking liquid.
5 Grease a baking tin and dust with a little flour.
6. pour the batter into the baking tin and bake for 40-45 minutes until the cake is golden brown and firm. Don't forget to turn the cake once halfway through the baking time.
7 Leave to cool before serving. Serve with the poached pear wedges.
TIP: Other types of fruit can also be used for the cake. The batter can also be used to bake muffins.
Bonus for on the go: rice bars
INGREDIENTS
- 360 g sushi rice
- 720 ml water
- 1 tbsp white or
- brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
PREPARATION
1. bring the rice to the boil with the sugar and salt, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until the rice has absorbed the water.
2. add the desired flavouring ingredients and season the rice mixture with salt and sugar to taste.
3 Spread the rice into a baking tin lined with baking paper. The bars should be about 2-3 cm thick. Alternatively, you can fill half of the rice into the tin, add a filling of your choice and then add a second layer of rice on top - like a sandwich.
4 Refrigerate the mould for at least 12 hours until the rice has set. Cut into bars and wrap individually. They will keep refrigerated for 4-5 days.
Proven ingredient pairs: Peanut butter and jam - Chicken and parmesan - Eggs and ham - Chocolate and banana - Sweet potato and cottage cheese
TIP: Add fresh berries or small pieces of apple, pineapple, peach and plums, either raw or as a compote. Flavour with cinnamon or cinnamon fudge.
