Like all sports, cycling requires a healthy lifestyle. A suitable diet is essential to help the body withstand physical exertion, whether intense or more moderate. This includes everyday dietary precautions, but also the specific nutrition of a cyclist while on the road! To cycle safely and improve your performance, discover the 5 rules of nutrition for cyclists.
1. Eat a balanced diet
Whatever your cycling style, it's important to eat a varied and balanced diet to avoid deficiencies and excesses. Your body will handle your bike rides much better!
Overall, focus on eating light before your race, favoring starchy foods (rice, pasta, toast, etc.), white meats (poultry), and low-fat dairy products with low lactose content for better digestion. Furthermore, a cyclist's diet should limit foods that are too acidic or high in saturated fats (fatty cheese, eggs, red meat, etc.), which are difficult to digest.
2. Adapt your diet to your needs
Depending on your cycling style (endurance, speed, climbing, etc.), your body's needs will vary. Similarly, a casual cyclist will have different needs than a competitive athlete. Therefore, you must adapt your diet according to your type of exertion.
On the one hand, the competitor has a performance goal. In the days leading up to their race, they must follow a specific diet that optimizes both nutrients and digestion time. For example, for an endurance event, a cyclist's diet will be rich in complex carbohydrates.
On the other hand, the casual cyclist mainly needs to adjust their diet in the hours leading up to their ride. There's no need to plan three days in advance!
3. Pack some snacks for your run
During a competition, training session, or even a simple Sunday outing, you should also plan for snacks. The goal: to maintain your body's energy levels to compensate for its energy expenditure during exertion.
To avoid hypoglycemia, it's best to bring energy bars. Particularly easy to digest, they contain the nutrients needed for sustained effort. Commercially available nutritional bars are specifically designed for sports, containing the right balance of protein and carbohydrates. It's best to choose bars with natural ingredients, which are more easily absorbed by the body.
4. Stay hydrated!
The effort involved in cycling quickly dehydrates the body. To avoid discomfort and dehydration, it is therefore essential to hydrate properly, both before, during, and after your workout.
In practice, it's best to drink:
- Drink plenty of still water before the race, to replenish your reserves.
- Drink isotonic water during exercise to stay hydrated and delay fatigue. Specially formulated for athletes, isotonic water is rich in carbohydrates and minerals (sodium, potassium, magnesium, etc.). Its consistency is also similar to that of blood plasma, making it easier for the body to absorb.
- Alkaline water, rich in sodium, bicarbonates and/or citrates. This will promote recovery and reduce muscle soreness.
5. Recharge after exercise
Recovery after a race is just as important as the preparation period. Your body has suffered from the effort and must therefore replenish its reserves, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
In addition to hydration, a cyclist's post-race nutrition must be complete, including carbohydrates and protein. Consider dried fruit, nuts, cereals, and energy bars, which are particularly rich in nutrients.
Conclusion
To improve performance while preserving the body, a cyclist's diet must therefore be adapted before, during and after exercise.