Tour de France
Tour snapshot: Carbo-loading is the menu of cyclists' choice

By Mark Akins
Seattle Times staff

ROBERT PRATTA, REUTERS, 1992 Greg LeMond, taking on fuel at mid-race in a feed zone, opens his musette bag in the 1992 Tour.

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Low-carb diets have no place in the Tour de France.

On a typical flat stage, riders burn about 6,000 calories — almost triple the daily average for most adults. On a hard mountain stage, they might need 9,000 to 10,000.

That's a lot of carbo-loading. Perhaps Lance Armstrong's latest book, "Every Second Counts," should have been titled "Every Second Helping Counts."

What do riders eat? Pasta, pasta and more pasta. Even for breakfast.

But they need more than carbohydrates. Athletes need fat and protein to replenish their reserves and rebuild muscle.

Greg LeMond, a three-time Tour champion, alarmed traditionalists by eating ice cream and Mexican food. But you couldn't argue with his results.

If all that eating sounds fun, think again. Intestinal problems are a frequent companion of cyclists who must frequently refuel with liquids and easily digestible foods such as fruit.

A recent trend is high-tech energy gels, which former Tour competitor Bob Roll, in his book, "The Tour de France Companion," describes as a "slimy pudding ... almost pure glucose."

Suddenly, pasta for breakfast doesn't sound so bad.

Mark Akins is a Times copy editor who has been following the Tour de France since 1989. He can be reached at 206-464-8994 or makins@seattletimes.com