Do you remember the first BIKE-Transalp? That was in 1998. The year in which Gerhard Schröder sat at the head of government, Jan Ullrich lost the Tour de France to Marco Pantani and the Monica Lewinsky affair surrounding Bill Clinton gathered pace. The Transalp was a milestone for the sport of cycling - a real adventure that was more about arriving than finishing. The bikers celebrated their arrival in every stage town. Pizza was eaten, beer sipped - even by the top teams. Almost 20 years later, the picture is different. One that resembles that of the Tour de France: The top riders have their own chefs, eat only selected ingredients and leave nothing to chance when it comes to nutrition, even in the run-up to the race. Pizza and beer are on the blacklist.
Has the Transalp adventure, the biking lifestyle, really developed into a scientific elite sport? A sport that is all about watts and calories? A sport in which self-optimisation is the ultimate goal? Do they still exist, the beer-swilling louts à la Shaun Palmer, who were just as fast on fast food? We wanted to find out more and see whether elite athletes really do radically renounce pleasure, or whether they are just normal people after all.
We wanted to know how preoccupied they are with the topic of "nutrition". And also whether this topic perhaps even puts them under stress. BIKE visited the four German mountain bike stars Sabine Spitz, Jochen Käß, Elisabeth Brandau and Simon Stiebjahn to see what's really in their fridges and how much attention they pay to their diet. It quickly became clear that there is no such thing as the perfect diet for athletes. Everyone has to find their own way. Some seem to have already reached the goal of their ideal diet. Some don't know where to start. Others despair when it comes to this seemingly simple topic.
We also took a brief look at the macro-nutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrates) and explained the role of the individual substances. Why, you ask? With more and more new diets and nutritional concepts, we as editors are getting more and more questions on these topics. Twenty years ago, vegetarians were considered exotic, but today there is a flood of dietary concepts: vegan, raw, paleo, gluten-free and many more.
Each of these concepts has its justification somewhere, but many athletes lack a basic understanding of performance-orientated and healthy nutrition. They rarely know what macro-nutrients have what effect and what happens when they are excluded.
What energy do professional athletes consume? A short list:
- 15 kilos of rice were eaten by the riders of Team Centurion Vaude in one week of the Transalp. There were rice in all variations: with milk, with curry, with scrambled eggs and in salads.
- 4430 kilojoules was burnt by Simon Stiebjahn on the Trans-Schwarzwald stage up to the Feldberg. This value only refers to the muscles relevant to propulsion.
- 6 litres of energy drink ran down Sabine Spitz's throat during the first stage of the Trans Black Forest. The German cross-country specialist rarely drinks that much.
- 600 extra calories is what breastfeeding women have to do to supply their offspring with milk. However, new mum Elisabeth Brandau does not see any restrictions.
"Trust your instincts" - Interview with Uwe Schröder, ecotrophologist
Mr Schröder, we visited four professional athletes and realised that there doesn't seem to be one diet for success. Does it just seem that way, or does everything work?
Everything certainly doesn't work. Nobody has ever become world champion on a diet of wine gums. But as different as the athletes are, the nutritional strategies can be just as different.
Does genetics play a role here?
Certainly, but also things like allergies or intolerances. There are athletes who never noticed their intolerances for years because they manifested themselves in other ways than with classic stomach problems.
But isn't there a common denominator?
The popular term "healthy mixed diet" hits the nail on the head. People who eat a fresh, varied and needs-orientated diet recover better and fall ill less often.
That sounds abstract.
For example, an athlete who carries out very intensive training sessions needs to consume more carbohydrates. This would then be in line with requirements. A healthy mixed diet means choosing high-quality foods and a good mix of the macro-nutrients protein, fat and carbohydrates.
How do I find the right ratio?
Ideally with flair. We humans are very capable of choosing the right foods. However, our modern eating habits and countless diet and nutrition guides train us to lose this body awareness. My advice: only buy fresh food. Prepare everything immediately. The process of cooking alone gives us back the right feeling of what we need as food. Over time, you will also develop a feeling for the foods that are good for you and those that are not.
You can read this article or the entire BIKE 10/2015 issue in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or buy the issue in the DK shop reorder:
