What Does A Professional Cyclist Actually Eat?

Fuelling your ride correctly isn’t just about what you do in the saddle - every meal is important to the riders in the Pro peloton. We caught up with chef Alan Murchison at the AJ Bell Women’s Tour 2021 to find out how he keeps the riders of Canyon//SRAM at peak performance!
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Leave us a comment below!

[@hurleyvideos1]

He said “second breakfast”. I don’t think they know about second breakfast, Pip. 🤣

[@madiantin]

I thought about the same thing. =D

[@mrtssmith]

What about elevenses? Lucheon? Afternoon Tea?

[@jack002tuber]

Hobbits must be awesome cyclists

[@LeonEvans_Guyver1]

the cameraman missed an opportunity to throw an apple at him 😂😂😀😀

[@devinm.6149]

Hobbits came to mind for me as well

[@tenderlovellcare]

Great information and insight. I’ll look forward to hearing more like this. It was especially good to hear “eating for tomorrow”. I’ve noticed a big difference in my recovery and performance with this mindset.

[@richardedward123]

Nice work Manon. Yes, indeed sometimes we need to start fueling for tomorrow today. 💪👍👍👍👍👍

[@riffmeisterkl]

Kinda like the military - or on a ship, or oil platform. The chef is the most important person !

[@Philobiblion]

More really solid work from Manon. Thank you Manon.

[@jabehauber]

Fantastic interview. Great insights. This is where the rubber meets the road, via the stomach. Seriously, how vital is a chef! Can you imagine rolling into your ordinary hotel looking for a few thousand high quality calories and basically seeing that they have fish and chips? This is a no brainer. I want to join this team just for the food.

[@Foxtrottangoabc]

Still fish and chips on a Friday 😃

[@tomaburque]

This is the kind of content I come here for. Well done.

[@craig2100]

Great session, and a brilliant chef!

[@areyouseriousrightnow7916]

Thank you for giving such good content keep up the good work thank you

[@DroneonSteve]

Great little vid. Do like how they bleeped out shit but left in when Alan said pissing down 😂

[@stevemawer848]

Front's more acceptable than back, obvously! :-)

[@donwright3427]

Good info. I need the extra energy for repairing punctures as it hedge cutting season in the Cymru

[@jamesbarber6375]

Remember Alan as such a strong character from Great British Menu. What a great perk of being in a pro team getting food of that calibre.

[@matthewrendell1713]

Great video Manon and Alan - thank you. More nutrition videos would be great!

[@stevelewis6154]

Fantastic interview and look behind the scenes. So much more than just jumping on the bike everyday.

[@mick6ful]

Excellent insight Manon. Please make more videos like these. Food making me hungry 😊

[@philipplorenz9485]

this is great insight stuff! The film on GCN+ was great as well, quite some ideas to adopt for us ordinary people :-) Please do more videos like this one!

[@TexasWahoo_]

Man, that was fascinating! I'm heading straight to his GCN+ film for more of him.

[@FlatSpinMan]

It’s well worth watching. I then went and bought his book.

[@mikpiotto]

Even though this was just a interview it was very interesting and entertaining

[@stewarthinsley6995]

'How to eat like a pro' I was expecting hog dog eating competition 😆

[@charliedillon1400]

I cooked at a hotel when Miguel Indurain and team stayed for a week in 1995. Those guys were all eating two steaks, two baked potatoes, and a pile of broccoli every night, among other things. They ate insane amounts but asked for everything plain. Nice crew. Easy.

[@bensharpe2013]

Very interesting film. Thanks very much!

[@craigcarlson4022]

Very interesting. Thanks for making this.

[@carlberto7214]

I was hungry for this video thank you

[@chowzisiong7800]

more of this sort of videos please :D

[@alexk2127]

Takeaway for me was to be proactive about food choices for days ahead. Having a plan means some thought went into it and together with analysis of food choices and their impact on prior days can result in more than marginal gains.

[@bikeskimawk670]

Wonderful insight. Eat, Ride to the level of your smile.

[@regunationsregunations6662]

Great video as always! Very interesting so I click instantly, as always..

[@kamucho]

Love Merch. Ollie & Merch cooking series please 👌👌

[@ffskierdune6226]

Brillant. Variety of carbs and protein sources at each meal. Checks all the boxes.

[@funnights74]

Excellent, i also watched Alans GCN+ feature where he put 3 cyclists through a controlled training and eating regime lasting 8 weeks, all had notable improvements even after such a relatively short period of time. It would be interesting to revisit them let's say post Christmas or later to see if they had the discipline to persevere with the program and examine the data then. Something that occurred to me is I do a pretty strict Keto eating programme which would be very strict on the % of carbohydrate intake, so how could I reconcile an eating regime with the Keto programme i have been doing for 10 months now and has served me very well.

[@lauig]

Does this apply to those dominating dutch riders as well ? I was under the impression they start their day off with a dose of cobblestones & a glass of cold rain, lunch on strong gusts of lateral winds and dine on sand and mud with a sprinkle of lactic acid. Come race day they have this habit of snacking every 10k on the salty tears of their defeated opponents.

[@mauricioxaviercine]

Eat, Race, Win is a nice documentary about these.

[@troycollett8540]

Great video

[@madwank]

Got Alan Murchison's cookbook, it's class.

[@FlatSpinMan]

Me,too, after watching the GCN+ video. I liked his idea of “even if this only makes you prepare one meal a day differently, it’s worth it”. The recipes are pretty simple generally though I don’t have tons of ingredients. They’re also designed for athletes under a heavy training load, so for more normal people (like myself), reducing quantities is probably a good idea. I really liked his approach though.

[@jamesvonvacheresse7888]

I thought for a second you "Manon", were going to grab a bite when being shown those meals.😁😎 Did you skip "second breakfast" before the interview? Lol

[@lwittrock1]

He's right. You are the engine and to often the emphasis is on the tool rather than the person who's powering it.

[@Ystadcop]

Very good.

[@bubblesezblonde]

I never looked at food=fuel until I began cycling. Nice vid Manon!

[@Kimberly_Sparkles]

Me either! I see a nutritionist and we worked out what I need to keep going. It wasn’t a lot. Timing and small snack but I definitely keep it in mind when I set out on a ride.

[@stevemawer848]

Neither do most people - that's why the medical profession is so busy, pretending they're in charge of your health and wellbeing.

[@joshstevens8276]

"Still time" Agreed.

[@loud479]

I've used rice pudding my self but i Didn't think if it outside of recommendation even from a kitchen back ground

[@ramilcandelaria6554]

im not athlete but this video is so good for proper nutrition for cyclist.

[@nerigarcia7116]

A chef would be a key part of the team as they're fueling the engines. Without that optimization the engine isn't as efficient and the bike doesn't go as fast. I'd just love a chef in my life.

[@scasey5499]

How does Alan make the rice porridge?

[@craignittolo3040]

I agree with everything in this video

[@joeyraizo]

I love how manon look at the food 🤣

[@TheLogancoats]

from someone in the restaurant industry, that seems like a really cool job.

[@troycollett8540]

And he rides quite a bit too so he’s combining his two loves

[@FoolOfATuque]

Having a chef is good, because they can take good people normally wouldn’t eat and make it amazing.

[@sandgroper1970]

having a decent Chef, to cook for them would be like a treat for them, On top of that they can throw together a special meal because of a win, birthday, or just crappy weather. Or as this chef stated they have the low down of dietary restrictions/ requirements/ preferences . Considering now a lot of the Men’s tour have Chefs especially some of the big budget teams , why not for the women, Obviously at the moment some of the women’s teams don’t have the budget, but you can invest all you like in equipment etc, but you need to fuel the athletes and they need palatable food to be able to eat enough of what is needed.

[@dogsdangelies1]

More from Alan please, love his straightforward thinking

[@lewbur7926]

Just watched this hungover whilst eating a McDonald’s breakfast. I need a word with myself

[@blue77ob]

😋 I will eat that everyday looks good ill go everyday on bike to work for almost 15 years and also training 3 time a week so will be a good meal 😅

[@willmo1725]

I had cheese burger anf frys for a mid ride lunch, it revived me was it bad for me?

[@andregoncalves9130]

How does he cook if the kitchen is in Wales?

[@ColonelBummleigh]

The lad is switched on.

[@bikeanddogtrips]

whatever happened to Hannah ??? The chef with Tinkoff Saxo?

[@JohnLumapaskeith]

Hi GCN, I was wondering if you could have some sort of tutorial on , How to properly apply chamois butr? crazy question, I know. It's just that, whenever I apply mine, I still Chafe. :(

[@stevemawer848]

Hasn't Hank already done a video about this?

[@sugincuk]

Does he cook for the mechanics too?

[@janwillemkuilenburg7561]

Looking at all these treats I want to be an elite rider

[@DanTuber]

No calorie tracking?

[@deweq6717]

How many meals do a pro cyclist eat during the day? I just started enjoying riding bike!

[@ramsaycobbler8499]

Yeah babe

[@brentonedwards9756]

Sounds like they have to be more than just a chef, they also have to be a nutritionist

[@Abnsdllnnlosnfd]

I´m a really professional when it comes to eating: I´m not only eating for today, I´m eating for tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that...

[@ckat609]

what about second breakfast? :D

[@mickeyatbp]

dragon queen manon lloyd is 🧡👑🐉

[@LRF49]

I keep saying it to people I know. Just because you're not a pro. It doesn't mean you can skip good nutrition to get the most out of your rides. As the chef mentioned, nutrition will give you more of a performance boost than any state of the art bike. You can have the best aero bike available, but if you physically suck on the bike a single speed crit rider will smoke you. If that happens, check your nutrition.

[@paulbradford6475]

When every women's team in the pro peloton has their own chef and dining area separate from the hotel, that's when you know they've entered the big leagues.

[@AAAMHHH]

“Might have a caffeine gel 13 minutes before the race”

[@stevemawer848]

Timing is everything! :-)

[@arod175]

Did Manon just dropped a hint of a dream to be an Olympian?

[@jinngeechia9715]

I want whatever is presented in those boxes for any day! Yummy!

[@adnartmadmartm8718]

How to eat like a pro? I think I already know what the next video will be about.

[@josephgreenwald]

Rice and chicken good for doping

[@joffbrown]

Like the man said Manon there’s still time for you get back into a women’s team

[@SpalterCS]

Who wants to eat the same food like a pro, if cycling is a hobby? For me: Not at all

[@museves]

my dream has always been to marry a chef. but nope life says otherwise 🤣

[@aajordan2000]

mmmmmm second breakfast.....

[@christianemeiners9224]

Are any of the riders opting for vegan foods? Would he cater to that too?

[@1davebreno]

Hi GCN, is there any chance you can drop the carbs and do a Keto version on this? - call it a stretch goal if you must.

[@mediocrejoker9447]

that would just be stupid. carbs are life

[@wilsonyg]

delicious 😋😋

[@federicorivero6201]

For amateurs I recommend kebab, Mac or KFC in the evening one day before a race. Works for me better than pasta 😄 And after racing it's good to get some micro elements drinking porter.

[@yeahbuddy4712]

But is he Scottish or Irish.. cus his accent is really throwing me off

[@johnlivesey8480]

Beep the word "shit" but not "pissing" :D

[@spyder9179]

Manon is so much better when she's not paired with Hank.

[@simongoh9461]

After a ride, healthy food is good...but no where near as good as a jammy doughnut!

[@kevintwine8443]

"everyone likes banana bread" nope that is incorrect 😂

[@davasg96]

Ah yes Manon, the (almost) Olympic gold world champion, if she only had a great training chef!

[@Treker-yv7nz]

I ride Fasted always and drink water 💦

[@ajrh82]

Bonk much?

[@BixbyConsequence]

Probably your body's trained to use fat as fuel. Good for endurance but not high-intensity.

[@MassMultiplayer]

hope its not animal cruelty :( Vegan Cyclist chanels !

[@drakes3082]

I’ll like the video but this guy is talking rubbish they eat much more healthier I’m sure of it

[@fernandog.aguirre2791]

...nothing specific, not interesting

[@erikmatonickin]

GCN is boring.

[@troycollett8540]

Why did you watch it then