Dave Zabriskie to do a first at the Tour

[jaylew]

. 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).

So, it won't be a first then. If he's eating salmon to get through it he's just saying it's not possible to do it on a vegan diet.

 

[Task_Force]

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.

it says no meat in general.. not specified to only beef.. so I guess he is a vegetarian now, he says he'll stay of the meat till the rules change..

 

[Granville57]

i don't care about his diet or anybody's diet

Exactly! Who cares!

Well, I suppose those of us who are actually athletic and take an interest in how different foods affect performance.

Plus, Dave Z. is a character, so we are likely to get some entertaining anecdotes to go along with this story.

There are certainly far less trivial topics that pop up in the forum. (Although maybe this should be in the Form & Fitness sub-forum?)

 

[egtalbot]

So, it won't be a first then. If he's eating salmon to get through it he's just saying it's not possible to do it on a vegan diet.

yep. That would be my take. That said, I personally suspect it is theoretically possible. The fruitarian dude has done some crazy multi-day endurance things. I am certain that riding 5 hours a day at Tour efforts is a different stress on the body but still wouldn't surprise me if someone could do it.

But is it wise, that's another question.

 

[Parrulo]

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

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

Susan

iirc said he wouldn't eat more red meat. nothing about fish and all types of white meat.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

I tracked down the original interview: http://www.marca.com/2011/06/29/ciclismo/1309371073.html

and he says that he no longer eats beef. Interestingly enough most stories reporting on the interview simply say he no longer eats meat.

Susan

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

iirc said he wouldn't eat more red meat. nothing about fish and all types of white meat.

Alberto should eat Valverde's dog. Or Basso's. He'd smash.

 

[krismtb]

How many riders are vegan/veggie in the TDF this year?

 

[Parrulo]

So, it won't be a first then. If he's eating salmon to get through it he's just saying it's not possible to do it on a vegan diet.

exactly

"hey look at me i am riding the tour on a vegan diet!!!"

"then why are you eating a giant stake here at the restaurant of the hotel?"

"well you see i still need some proper food from time to time so i don't fall dead of my bike mid race"

"then you are not on a vegan diet. . . ."

*big silence*

"hey look at me i am riding the tour on a vegan diet!!!"

 

[Granville57]

How many riders are vegan/veggie in the TDF this year?

True vegan? None that we know of.

Experts say he is the first cyclist to attempt the most difficult bike race in the world sans meat, dairy or eggs.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304314404576414124184873028.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_5

Love the image.

 

[Task_Force]

i know Tjallingii is vegetarian, dont know to which extend..

 

[just some guy]

i know Tjallingii is vegetarian, dont know to which extend..

as a digress I don´t get this type of statement

your either vego or not

your either vegan or not

a person who claims to be a vego but eat fish is well not a vego they just don´t eat meat.

 

[Granville57]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304314404576414124184873028.html
Surprised not to see such items as nuts and beans in his diet though (that's shown in the link).

Nuts are mentioned, but without any specifics.

I'm surprised by two thing though (if this is indeed an accurate take on his meal plan).

1) His breakfast seems a bit sparse (or at least a bit limited).
2) Is he really relying almost entirely on Cliff products throughout a six or seven hour stage? No "real" food?

Breakfast:
Oatmeal with black strap molasses; whole food optimizer; cacao nibs; nuts; cinnamon; two tablespoons of coconut butter; an apple; hemp seeds and flax seeds

On-the-Bike Snacks:
Six Clif Bar Z bars (vegan); two Clif Bar shot blocks (vegan); two Clif Bar gels (vegan); dates; six to eight bottles of special team race drink

 

[RedheadDane]

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.

I'm going to jump instantly on the who cares what the man is eating? bandwagon.
I really don't care what anybody is eating, or not eating, as long as I am not forced to follow same diet.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Grass is meant to be smoked, not eaten. Unless it's in brownies. Then I guess it's ok.

 

[zapata]

Zabriskie will probably finish top ten in the tour. It must be his turn, now.

 

[doperhopper]

just coincidence

I'll ride the Tour without being meat-positive... well, yes, there's this salmon.

I've never returned positive test at the Tour... well, yes, there was this saddle cream.

How about launching new super-clean Vegan/Vegetarian Tour de France, best abbreviation would be VVTF?

 

[ihavenolimbs]

So, it won't be a first then. If he's eating salmon to get through it he's just saying it's not possible to do it on a vegan diet.

Of course it's possible to compete in, and win, the TdF on a vegan diet. All the nutrients (necessary for human health) in animal-derived products can be found in non-animal products too.

The only issues could be nutrient ratios within the food, and the bioavailability of those nutrients. These are merely technical issues to be solved (which likely have been already, based on my own experiences). Maybe DZ eats fish because he isn't confident that he has solved all of these potential problems? (Or maybe he just likes fish?)

Additionally, many non-animal foods tend to have better macro- and micro-nutrient ratios than animal products (esp. since water & carbohydrates are the most important nutrients, by volume, in endurance sport).

I'd be more surprised if someone managed to complete the TdF only eating animal products.

 

[craig1985]

Where is durianrider when we need him?

 

[TRDean]

Well, I suppose those of us who are actually athletic and take an interest in how different foods affect performance.

Plus, Dave Z. is a character, so we are likely to get some entertaining anecdotes to go along with this story.

There are certainly far less trivial topics that pop up in the forum. (Although maybe this should be in the Form & Fitness sub-forum?)

That is laughable..but yes there have been far less trivial topics LOL! But really, Dave Z. is doing nothing more than a publicity stunt. And lets be realistic here...I am athletic...but I am nowhere near riding the tour or doing anything like that...and neither are you...plenty of vegans are athletic...nothing new there.

 

[Granville57]

That is laughable...

OK, you tricked me. The humor is lost.

I am nowhere near riding the tour or doing anything like that...and neither are you...

Ya' got me again. Busted. But that could be said about every aspect of pro racing. I still take an interest in it. Is it OK if I still buy a nice bike?

plenty of vegans are athletic...nothing new there.

Um, how many of them are in the 2011 TdF?

 

[veganrob]

Not sure at al why Dave Z is advertising as such. Maybe he is not quite sure yet of his diet, or JV is not. There are better vegan foods for iron absorption. But drawing attention to fact is ok.
Of course he can finish. Why not. If Alberto was vegan he would still win. There are already vegan athletes at the top of their respective sports. Scott Jurek. It is still a relatively new thing to do that though. When I became vegetarian 33 years ago it was because I thought it would be more healthy. Even as an athlete. There was just not a lot of info out there at the time. There is an abundance now. I have followed a fruitarian diet for years now. Raw, high carb.
There will be more vegan athletes coming every day and will soon dominate sports I think. Especially as they get older. Youngsters can eat all sorts of **** food and be ok.

 

[rickshaw]

somebody saw him ....

Where is durianrider when we need him?

... he was standing in front of a full length mirror muttering something like, "NO... look at ME, look at ME... its about ME...."

vegetarian since 1980

 

[montagna lunga]

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.

w.t.f?

vegan still wants to join with creator?

 

[bridgeman]

I'm going to eat steak tonite.