If you watched any of the Tour de France this summer, you might have seen something interesting post-race.
For years, cycling has been ahead of the game in terms of nutrition.
But it seems the pro teams are pushing things even further now.
Because while a few years ago, the go-to post-race protocol was to have a recovery drink within 30 minutes of finishing…
Many of the teams in the TDF this year were seen to give every rider two drinks within that first half hour.
Word on the ground was, for most riders, that first drink was tart cherry juice (great for combatting inflammation, as well as providing carbs,) mixed with protein powder.
And the second drink was more of a traditional carb mix, with maybe a little extra protein added in.
Now, you might be thinking that if this double-drink recovery strategy is the way to go for Tadej, Jonas, Remco and the rest of the peloton, it should be top priority for you, too.
Well, maybe.
But maybe not.
See, as incredible as professional athletes are, it’s all too easy to look at what they do, and assume that every single protocol is absolutely essential.
In reality, it likely isn’t.
For one thing, these two drinks alone will contain in the region of 1,000+ calories.
That’s all well and good if you’ve just done 6 hours of hard cycling in the Alps.
But if you’ve been out on a 2-hour steady ride with friends, you may not even have burned that many calories on your way around.
Plus, if you’ve been topping up with gels, fruit, or potentially even a mid-race slice of victoria sponge alongside a piping hot flat white…
This double drink recovery strategy could put you into a calorie surplus.
Ie. If you do this often enough, you’ll gain weight.
(And not the good kind of weight!)
Likewise, think about the main goal here for a TDF cyclist.
It’s to recover as soon as possible, as 18 hours later, they’re going to need to be performing at their absolute peak again.
For us mere mortals though (and I include age groupers and high-quality amateurs in this category,) we might not have another hard ride or run for 3-4 days.
So while recovery is important, it’s not AS important as it is for the pros.
And that means that one simple, lower-calorie recovery shake, or even a protein and carb-based meal 30-60 minutes later will likely be adequate.
As with so much in triathlon, this is one of those things which should be looked at on a case-by-case basis.
A lot of things can work…
But that doesn’t mean you need to do them.
And as great as some strategies can be for the pros, stressing out over them too much is likely a case of majoring in the minor.
The Brownlee Fitness Team
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