Cycling
How do riders at the Tour de France fuel up?
Fuelling has become the new arms race in professional cycling. How do the best bike riders in the world fuel during races like the Tour de France?
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Bike racing is one of the most intense sports in the world, and riders burn absolutely enormous amounts of energy during races. This means pro cycling teams are constantly looking to refine their fuelling strategies to allow their riders to keep up with the demand. This article looks at how Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe and other teams in the pro peloton fuel for the toughest bike races on Earth, like the Tour de France.
01
Why is fuelling important in a race?
A rider in the Tour de France can burn anywhere between 4,000 and 8,000 calories during a stage, with longer or more demanding mountain days often pushing that figure even higher. For example, Clément Braz Afonso - the punchy French climber riding for Groupama - FDJ United - recorded an estimated expenditure of 3,815kj on his way to eighth place on Stage 13 of this year’s Tour de France. For a rider with a listed weight of just 50kg, that is absolutely massive.
Refuelling is carefully managed throughout the Tour de France
© Conny Mirbach/Red Bull Content Pool
Without the proper fuel, a rider has no hope of even finishing a single stage of the Tour de France, let alone competing for the victory. The best teams in the world have meticulous fuelling strategies to ensure their riders can continue competing at the highest level day after day after day.
For example, EF Education EasyPost sports director Tom Southam told the Life in the Peloton podcast: “We’ve got three coolers in each of our team cars. Then [on Stage 9] we had nine spots by the side of the road in 155km. In each of those spots, we’ve got two or three people with bags containing a mix of water and ice. The numbers of how many bidons there are going out each day are through the roof.”
The body's preferred fuel during hard efforts is glycogen, the carbohydrate stored in the muscles and liver. In simple terms, once those reserves become depleted, power output drops sharply as the body is forced to rely more heavily on using fat as fuel - which produces energy far more slowly.
B. Murray & C. Rosenbloem’s scientific paper ‘Fundamentals of glycogen metabolism for coaches and athletes’ details how glycogen stores are impacted by exercise. “During intense, intermittent exercise and throughout prolonged physical activity, muscle glycogen particles are broken down, freeing glucose molecules that muscle cells then oxidise through anaerobic and aerobic processes to produce the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules required for muscle contraction. The rate at which muscle glycogen is degraded depends primarily upon the intensity of physical activity; the greater the exercise intensity, the greater the rate at which muscle glycogen is degraded.”
In cycling, that sudden loss of glycogen is known as 'bonking' or 'hitting the wall'. “Essentially, bonking is exercise-induced hypoglycemia or low blood sugar,” describes the TrainerRoad Ask A Coach podcast.
A rider who has bonked can go from matching the peloton's pace to struggling to turn the pedals in a matter of minutes. Climbs become insurmountable, accelerations impossible, and concentration begins to fade. With three weeks of hard racing to complete, riders at the Tour de France simply cannot afford a single bonk, and so nutrition and energy management are the defining factor in most teams’ race strategy.
02
What do riders eat on the bike?
Everything a rider eats and drinks is carefully monitored
© Maximilian Fries/Red Bull Content Pool
Riders at the Tour de France have changed the way they think about fuelling over the past decade, and the whole peloton uses the latest evidence-based research to influence how they fuel. What used to be somewhat of an afterthought for teams is now the number one focus that dictates the race strategy and logistics of each stage - with multiple departments across the team staff needing to work together to ensure the riders are being fuelled correctly before, during and after races. Teams employ dedicated nutritionists who calculate each rider's carbohydrate requirements based on stage profile, expected intensity, weather conditions, and individual physiology.
“There are a few different elements to the nutrition of a World Tour cycling team,” says Stephen Smith, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe’s head of performance nutrition. “We have the strategic overview, which is the job of the nutritionists and the physiologists as well, but then we have the race delivery side of it, which is where the whole team come together, especially the carers – they’re the guys on the side of the road handing out the bottles, so without the two departments working together we just wouldn’t be able to deliver the optimal nutrition to the riders.”
One of the biggest revolutions in modern cycling nutrition is the move towards consuming up to 120g of carbohydrates per hour during racing. That’s like eating around five bananas an hour every hour for four, five or six hours at a time… every day!
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03
Training the gut
Riders get energy from a mixture of drinks, gels, chews and solid foods
© Maximilian Fries/Red Bull Content Pool
Years ago, many riders struggled to absorb more than 60g per hour without stomach discomfort. Today's professionals actively train their digestive systems, gradually increasing carbohydrate intake during training sessions until their gut can comfortably process in excess of 120g per hour. Just like the legs, the digestive system can adapt with practise.
This 'gut training', combined with using specially formulated carbohydrate blends made up of a mix of glucose and fructose – which are absorbed via different pathways in the intestines – allows riders to absorb more energy without gastrointestinal distress.
Rather than relying on one source of fuel, riders spread that 120g target across energy drinks, gels, chews and solid foods, such as rice cakes or bars. It's a disciplined approach that requires planning, but maintaining a steady supply of carbohydrates helps riders sustain higher power outputs, recover more effectively between efforts, and reduce the risk of the dramatic energy crashes that can end a Tour de France challenge in an instant.
“We have these plans, but obviously once the race starts and the chaos starts, it can be quite difficult to remember to eat and drink,” says Smith. “We make these targets of 120g per hour, so if you’re on the bike and racing - especially in a chaotic race - you’re constantly eating and drinking to hit those targets.”
04
How do Tour de France riders eat at 50kph?
Old school ‘carb loading’ isn’t enough to meet these vast energy demands; riders have to fuel on the move. If you've ever struggled to unwrap an energy bar while riding, imagine doing it in the middle of the Tour de France peloton at speeds exceeding 50kph, surrounded by 170 other riders.
Keeping the riders fuelled requires a team effort
© Maximilian Fries/Red Bull Content Pool
The most recognisable sight in the constant battle of carbohydrate consumption is the feed zone.
A designated section of the race route stretching for a few hundred meters where team staff gather to hand off bottles and feed bags to the riders as they race past, the feed zone is where preparation meets chaos, and getting it right can be the difference between staying in contention and being dropped before the decisive climb.
The team’s carers stand shoulder-to-shoulder, each holding a musette bag packed with carefully measured bottles, gels, bars and rice cakes for their assigned rider. As the peloton hurtles through at speeds of more than 50kph, riders have just a split second to grab the bag, sling it over their shoulder and continue without disrupting the flow of the bunch.
In a lot of road stages, organisers will allow more than one feed zone, as well as permitting team staff to gather in specific areas to hand up additional bottles and gels as the riders pass.
The logistics of hopping between feed zones around road closures, deviations, and crowds of fans can be carnage, and requires a whole other layer of organisation within the team. On top of that, the race organisers will have a cut-off point where taking on additional fuel is no longer permitted, and riders can be penalised if they violate this rule.
This responsibility lies primarily with a team’s ‘soigneurs’; also known as ‘carers’. A pro cycling carer wears many hats – from preparing feed bags and bidons on the team bus before the race, to massage and washing the rider’s kit when they finish. One of their most important jobs during the race is manning the feed zone.
Bram De Meulenaere is a carer for Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, and knows how to manage the chaos of the feed zone to make sure his riders are fed and watered. “We have two people; one with water and one with 40g carbohydrate bottles. Then they [the riders] know that the first one is water and the second person has carbs. We put a gel and an ice sock on the bottle.”
05
How riders eat and drink outside of the feed zone
To succeed, Remco Evenepoel needs his team-mates to ferry food to him
© Maximilian Fries/Red Bull Content Pool
Feeding on the move is a technical skill. Miss the hand-off and a rider may be left without enough fuel to execute the team's race plan. That's why teamwork is paramount.
When race conditions allow, riders will drift to the back of the peloton and drop behind the convoy to collect fresh bottles and food from the team car. The sports director inside can hand over bidons filled with carbohydrate drink mix, gels, bars and other snacks tailored to the rider's needs. This process happens dozens of times throughout a stage, and is one of the most important jobs domestiques can carry out to help their leaders.
Domestiques are support riders, tasked with making repeated trips to the team car, collecting supplies not only for themselves but for the team's protected riders. It's not uncommon to see a domestique riding back through the bunch with multiple bidons tucked inside their skinsuit to distribute to their team-mates at the front.
Every trip costs valuable energy, but it's a sacrifice made to ensure the team leaders remain well fuelled for the decisive moments. A rider like Remco Evenepoel, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe’s GC leader at the Tour de France, needs to save as much energy as he can, so he will stay near the front of the peloton while his team-mates like Maxim Van Gils or Jan Tratnik ferry bidons and food back and forth from the team car.
The Tour de France is won with breathtaking attacks, tactical brilliance, and extraordinary physical talent. Underpinning all of this is a scientifically calculated, well-rehearsed fuelling strategy. A high mountain raid, sprint finish, or solo breakaway relies on input from the entire team, both on the road and behind the scenes, to ensure that strategy can be executed.
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