Dave Zabriskie to do a first at the Tour

[Merckx index]

On Saturday, American David Zabriskie plans to try something entirely new: Riding the Tour on a vegan diet.
Experts say he is the first cyclist to attempt the most difficult bike race in the world sans meat, dairy or eggs. (He will cheat slightly, he says, because he plans to eat small amounts of salmon two days per week to increase iron absorption).

This winter, Zabriskie's team director, Jonathan Vaughters, caught wind of his new diet and gave him a call. Vaughters was concerned the diet would lower Zabriskie's iron intake, which is crucial for endurance athletes. He told Zabriskie that he could try the diet, so long as he took regular blood tests to monitor his level of ferritin, the protein that stores iron. He said Zabriskie should eat more dark, leafy greens and other sources of iron. Vaughters says he's fine with the diet, so long as the results are good. "At the end of the day, I just want him to go fast."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304314404576414124184873028.html

Hope this starts a trend, though I doubt it will. There are a lot of good reasons for not eating meat, and if an athlete in the "most grueling athletic event in the world" can pull it off, it will be a great advertisement for this lifestyle. Surprised not to see such items as nuts and beans in his diet though (that's shown in the link).

Just think, if all riders went on this diet, there would be no issue about whether to make clenbuterol a threshold drug!

 

[jens_attacks]

this things are personal,i don't care about his diet or anybody's diet,you can eat coconuts,dinosaurus eggs,crocodile meat and whatever you want.don't make a story about it,i don't care.

 

[saganftw]

i heard alberto laughing chewing a steak

 

[BillytheKid]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304314404576414124184873028.html

Hope this starts a trend, though I doubt it will. There are a lot of good reasons for not eating meat, and if an athlete in the "most grueling athletic event in the world" can pull it off, it will be a great advertisement for this lifestyle. Surprised not to see such items as nuts and beans in his diet though (that's shown in the link).

Just think, if all riders went on this diet, there would be no issue about whether to make clenbuterol a threshold drug!

I think Alexi Grewal already tried this at the Tour back in the days of 7-Eleven. I as recall, he gave it up after about a week.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

One of the benefits of having no chance of winning the Tour is that you can mess around with your diet all you want.

 

[Parrulo]

this things are personal,i don't care about his diet or anybody's diet,you can eat coconuts,dinosaurus eggs,crocodile meat and whatever you want.don't make a story about it,i don't care.

pretty much

whats next? finishing the tour on a only mars candy diet?

One of the benefits of having no chance of winning the Tour is that you can mess around with your diet all you want.

i lol'd. i bet if he was good enough to win he wouldn't be going all vegan

 

[TourLeTour]

I will watch this with interest. In 2009 I rode alongside the tour on my 40kg MTB. I started off trying to eat a fairly balanced but healthy diet, but by the end of week one (which was week two for me, because I had ridden to Monaco for the start the week before) I could see that I was too thin, so I included every cake and sweet I could reach in my diet, as well as at least one chicken breast or a couple of hundred grams of fish every day. Also drinking quite a bit of milk and yoghurt. When I got home after 4 weeks and about 4,200km I stepped on the scales and was about 800g lighter than when I left.

I have also noticed a distinct trend when I race that eating a steak just before it seems to help. But when I give blood my iron levels are always right on the minimum at which they will actually take blood. Maybe his body just works differently to mine (certainly a lot faster...), retains iron better, and he will be fine. It will be an interesting thing to watch though!

 

[mr. tibbs]

Iron, huh? I better check my diet to be sure I'm getting enough ferritin...

For all you veggies/vegans, here's a list:

Egg yolks (obviously not vegan); kale & collard greens, etc (Vaughters's dark, leafy greens); qoinoa; dried fruit (prunes, raisins, etc); artichokes; beans & chickpeas; tofu (beans, I guess); broccoli; and lentils.

Note that some vegetables have properties that "bind" with the iron, making it less easy to absorb. I don't know the science behind it, but spinach and Swiss chard are apparently top offenders. So keep an eye out for that! I've also read that protein from grains, like quinoa, are more dificult to process.

Aaaaaand now I'm hungry.

Of course, I'm mr., not dr., tibbs, so do your own research and ask your own MD!

/thoughts. Good luck with all your respective diets, omnivorous or otherwise!

 

[BillytheKid]

I sure he'll have to stay away from Chris Horner. Close contact with him might bring about contamination.

http://www.bicycling.com/tour-de-france/tour-features/breakfast-cycling-champions

Classic Horner, but I notice the portion is a bit small. I guess the fat in the bacon makes up for it all.

 

[TRDean]

this things are personal,i don't care about his diet or anybody's diet,you can eat coconuts,dinosaurus eggs,crocodile meat and whatever you want.don't make a story about it,i don't care.

Exactly! Who cares!

 

[euanli]

Is he eating lots of beetroot as well?

 

[BillytheKid]

Is he eating lots of beetroot as well?

There was none pictured. In the fridge I guess. Here's the whole article. There's some more dietary humor included. Including hiding candy wrappers away from his FDJ paymasters.

http://www.bicycling.com/tour-de-france/tour-features/pushing-40-and-getting-faster

No beef (ha, ha) against any diet though.

 

[Parrulo]

question tho: what happens if he can't finish on his vegan diet?

 

[just some guy]

question tho: what happens if he can't finish on his vegan diet?

Contador eats him

 

[Swabian Lass]

Good luck to him. I'll bet Vaughters wouldn't let him do it if he had a chance of winning anything though.

I find having a steak before anything I do makes me perform better.

 

[Parrulo]

Contador eats him

but then contador would test positive for extreme amounts of tofu and soy sauce

 

[Chuffy]

I find having a steak before anything I do makes me perform better.

Do you eat steak before going on a date?

Just asking.

 

[Marmot]

Is this really a first? I thought many riders claimed to do it just on bread and water.

 

[lucybears]

Is this really a first? I thought many riders claimed to do it just on bread and water.

maybe. Vegetarians have completed the Tour several times, but I don't remember any vegans.

 

[Rubertow]

Guinness sorts out the iron problem - so i don't see it being a problem

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Good luck to him. I'll bet Vaughters wouldn't let him do it if he had a chance of winning anything though.

I find having a steak before anything I do makes me perform better.

yeah but that's just between you ears.

 

[Angliru]

One of the benefits of having no chance of winning the Tour is that you can mess around with your diet all you want.

+1 million!

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

Contador claims not to have eaten meat for the last year.

http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza/wielrennen/110629_contador_vlees

Susan

 

[mewmewmew13]

Guinness sorts out the iron problem - so i don't see it being a problem

All my life I've heard the wisdom 'there's a pork chop in every beer' and it's worked for me. I've been a vegetarian for 20+ years and I'm happy to get my protein from alternative sources (I love stout)

 

[Merckx index]

Contador claims not to have eaten meat for the last year.

http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza/wielrennen/110629_contador_vlees

Susan

Wow, that's unexpected. The key phrase in that article is “geen vlees”, which is translated as “no flesh”. Can someone who knows Dutch help me here? Is flesh the appropriate translation here, or is it possible that Bert was just saying he doesn’t eat beef? Is he really abstaining from all forms of animal protein (other than dairy products, I presume)? If he really is, I'm very surprised this hasn't received more press. At the least, it would show he is really concerned about contaminated meat.