I’ve always been a bit care free when it came to food, I would eat whatever took my fancy and basically I would maintain pretty good health and what could be reasonably considered a healthy weight.
My mom was raised during a war and food rationing, it’s fair to say after that experience she took getting healthy food down her kids necks pretty damn seriously! ALWAYS veg, always meat, if you don’t like it, TOUGH, it’s breakfast too!
I loved being outdoors, lucky this, given South African schools don’t exactly rejoice at the prospect of raising another thespian, well at least one that can’t handle a cricket bat, a ball or at the very least run like hell, sports are still the be all and end all. Again, it’s a case of like it or lump it.
So health is sort of forced on you, sounds mad I know but it is just the way it is, I was lucky. Not until the ripe old age of 24 did I break from tradition, a friend started to explain the virtues of a vegetarian diet. I was intrigued, I was training exceptionally hard and was keen to see if a) I could maintain it b) I could sustain my training sessions at the same level and well c) I felt good that I was thinking about what I ate for a change and frankly nothing was getting reared simply to fill my belly.
Now I certainly don’t have all the answers but I did notice a couple of things, portion sizes increased dramatically, it would take a lot of food to keep energy levels up, grazing was needed but it took serious habit rethinking. I did eventually get pretty used to this way of life and carried on training at my normal level but with a lot of thought into preparation.
We can’t always live on steamed vegetables and water
Problems began when I started to get lazy, I would revert to eating loads of bread, dairy (cheese in particular) and carbs. This led to fluctuations in my energy levels and rather random bouts of weight gain or loss and a predictable sporadic fluctuations in performance.
Diet became something I loathed, I loved food but I always ended up paranoid worrying what everyone else did to get it right.
I spent a week out on training camp with around 16 guys all sitting well within the very fit side of the spectrum without being professional bike riders. So all the guys have regular day to day jobs, some have young families, all are effectively athletes that exist in that weird world of the privateer, normal, but not normal by comparison to normal people….does that make sense?
Watching the guys eating habits was really interesting, all with variations on what helps em get through a tough day on the bike I observed four in particular and wanted to try capture a little of their thinking when it comes to diet, you draw your own conclusions.
Martin Williamson – Time Trialler (he would say all-rounder, I just say FAST)
Martin is a very accomplished time trialist, he watches the numbers, he regularly puts away a 25mile TT in 55minutes so the man can haul ass! Typically he is the most sensible of this lot, he analyses what works, removes what doesn’t. This is the only man I know who has had an afternoon nap of 40min for precisely the same time for most of his life and seems all the better for it, fast, lean, currently particularly focused on his strict diet, lots of veg, lots of fruit, always aware of empty calories.
Age – 37
Weight – 70kg
Height – 183cm
Hours training per working week – 8.
‘I do 2 hours very hard on Saturday. I do a one-hour turbo on Wednesday. In between it’s just my commute, some of which is leg-strength work, some of which is recovery’.
Breakfast
‘Porridge. Half a mug of dry porridge. Made with skimmed milk, lots of raisins and LOTS of mixed nuts and seeds’
Lunch
13:00 1 x pitta with 1/2 avocado, 1 beetroot, thin slices cheddar, relish
15.30 1x pitta with 1/2 avocado, 1 beetroot, thin slices cheddar, relish
Dinner
‘Eaten early (7), mostly plants (like this). 3 or 4 times per week big salad with mackerel, nuts or cheese. Try to avoid rice and pasta (replace with lentils). Red meat once a week.’
Treats
‘A couple of squares of really decent chocolate now and then.’
Snacks
‘Lots of fruit. Snack-attack coping strategies – mint or redbush tea.’
Thoughts on diet
‘That Michael Pollen article covers it for my attitude to what to eat. Mostly plants. I go hungry for an hour or two each morning and an hour each afternoon. I don’t eat between dinner at 7 and breakfast at 9 (which is after my 1 hour commute). I don’t eat processed food. I don’t eat much meat. I try to eat my evening meal early. The earlier the better. If I feel snacky later I have a cup of mint tea. I try to eat out of bowls because the quantity is then finite.
I figure that because my Monday to Friday breakfasts and lunches are so controlled, I can be more flexible the rest of the time. So I don’t stress too much about eating cake here and there, choosing duck at a restaurant or eating cheesy pasta with chorizo (when I’m not cooking).
I drink maybe one unit a week. A pint of beer or a glass of wine.’
Testing is all about the numbers. Photo (c) Sebastian Lomas
Martin Garratt – Rouleur (with odd enjoyment of cobbled wet climbs)
Martin is our freakish carbon copy of a lanky Rabobank rider, he is so thin its frightening but eats more than anyone I know. Martin was under the weather on camp but his eating in general has been an element of fascination for me for years. He can’t seem to live without something within grabbing distance, on more than one occasion he’s been told off by hotel staff for taking little wrapped parcels he built away from the breakfast buffet
Age – 41.5years (I like that Mart adds the .5)
Weight – 70kg
Height – 194cm
Hours training per working week – 6 avg.
‘In the two months before Mallorca (training camp) I averaged 6 hours training per week. Most of that was either turbo or Hillingdon (crit circuit)!’
Breakfast
‘I hate it, I’m never hungry straight out of bed, so I force down rice pudding out of a can with Jam and cup of tea’ (!)
Mid morning
‘Usually a couple of bananas and coffee (1 per day always in the morning)’
Lunch
‘Depends where I am but if working from home then eggs on toast or eggs and bacon on toast If at the office then a M&S ready meal eg lasagne in the microwave or one of their big salads with pasta. Don’t really do sandwiches- I just don’t like sandwiches really’
Mid Afternoon
‘Granola from Pret or one of their fruit bars, If I’m training in the evening, I skip this and just down a bottle of Nectar before riding, after training- always FGS (For Goodness Shakes)
Dinner
‘Biggest meal of the day is late evening after training where I rely heartily on Pia’s good cooking usually about 7.30pm’
‘I try to eat real food cooked properly eg: oven bakes, pasta bakes, home made pizza, quiches, stir frys, salads, stroganoff, currys, cabbage pie, chirizo/lentil soup, roasted vegetables, chicken, salmon and 2 veg omellettes, spag bol, lasagne, chilli con carne, risotto, fish pie, cottage pie.’
Treats
‘CHOCOLATE!! I don’t really do desserts at all, just chocolate. Anything good quality really eg G&B, Lindt etc this happens daily but only after meals, sugar in coffee. Alcohol? Almost never, maybe a couple of coronas a week max’
‘Cake? only at cafe stops! No junk food unless I’m pissed which is er- never these days’
Thoughts on diet
‘Contrary to popular belief I don’t actually eat that much anymore, compared to when I was say a teenager or a LOT younger. But yes I do have to eat often’
There’s always room for a little enjoyment
Ben Jacobs – Climber (of the very quick variety)
Ben is vegetarian, he also used to be a fatty (his words!)…well 80kg as apposed to 68, he is an anomaly in this group as he seems to have endless energy while the rest of us are gobbling protein shakes and potions, most of what Ben puts away is simply whole food and lots of it. Loves beer. He is unfortunately cursed with the ability to climb very big mountains quickly, these tend to be lacking in UK road racing scene but be sure, he ain’t no slouch!
Age – 34
Weight – 68kg
Height – 181 cm
Hours training per working week – 10 – 20 ‘10 on a bad week. 20 on a good week, somewhere in between usually.’
Breakfast
‘Two double espressos before leaving the house, later Muesli, low fat yog, skimmed milk, tea’
Lunch
‘Left over food. pasta, noodles, mushy peas/baked potatoes.’
Dinner
‘Go through phases, faves always changing but currently noodle soup with veg. home made pizza, oats/little bit of wheat flour/bi carb soda base. Standards are rice, veg, wholewheat pasta. Mushy peas are a super food, more protein and carbs than other pulses and less fat. Also taste great to us midlanders, that’s a northerner to anyone from London!
Treats
‘Raisins. beer. wine.’
Thoughts on diet
Riding next to Ben I got to harass him about food a lot but in essence its really straight forward for him, he loves cooking, he loves whole food and part of his wind down after work or training is to cook, simple!
Gav Ryan – Sprinter
Gav is so laid back he functions two hours behind everyone, though his calming demeanor seems at odds with his ability to place himself squarely in the thick of the action, shoulder to shoulder with the firecrackers of the sport and he absolutely loves it! My roomie on camp Gav tended to be the first under suspicion when the chocolates went missing, but deep down he’s just as particular as any of us!
Age: 31
Weight: 75 kg
Height: 179cm
Hours training per working week: 2.5 – 10
‘Winter – 2.5 in the working week plus 4 at weekends.
Summer – 5 hours plus 5 at weekends. No communiting, just training and racing. Occasional gym weights and swimming’
Breakfast
‘Cereals, porridge, toast, coffee’
Lunch
‘Baguette or sandwich or panini plus crisps, a latte or water’
Snack
‘Peanut butter on toast or a bagel plus tea. Every day around 6pm.’
Dinner
‘Always a combination of three: meat or fish or pasta or rice and veg, dessert: 500g tub of yogurt.’
Treats
‘Chocolate, biscuits, beer’
Thoughts on diet
‘I have never followed any diet, don’t think I ever will. I monitor my weight and if I feel I have eaten badly, I believe in punishment on my bike the next day.’
Stu Spies – the right dietary combination makes you STRONG
Conclusion
Its really pretty simple, these guys are all fast make no mistake, but they have also ridden and raced for years. Their diets now work without it having to be their preoccupation, well all but Mart W. but it’s a numbers game in time trials! They are all disciplined, thats a given but they don’t obsessively count their grains of rice, many a glass of wine was enjoyed at dinner let me tell you and they continued to dispatch me at every opportunity!
So I plan to add a little more discipline and try a few oddities from each of their regimes, hell its worth a crack right?
Enjoy your food, relax, its ok!