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!