By Kevin Kolodziejski
It’s highly unlikely you’re a Frenchman, but let’s just say you are.
Then there’s a 1 in 2 chance if your television was turned on during the afternoon of July 27, you watched at least a part of the greatest Tour de France finale that began with a mass start. Only the 1989 version culminating with Greg LeMond erasing a 50-second deficit in a 15.2-mile individual time trial to defeat Lauren Fignon by a mere 8 seconds (the slightest difference between first and second ever) can claim to be better.
It’s much more probable, though, you’re an American. That means — even though 1 billion people around the world did so — it’s highly unlikely you used your TV to view any single stage of this year’s TdF. How improbable? With the help of the folks at Evōk Advertising, I have it at about 1 in 83,000.
Which is why even though this website is dedicated to road-bike riding, you rarely if ever read about pro road-bike riding racing results. On occasion, however, you will read about the way the pros are training and eating if it can help you become a better rider, which also tends to make you a healthier person. Today is one of those occasions, the topic is carbohydrates, and to get to it . . .
Let’s Just Say You’re a Frenchman, Again
As well as a pro cyclist who’s been committing a terrible tactical mistake throughout the first two-thirds of a 100-mile race (the typical distance of a Tour de France stage that’s not a time trial). You haven’t been consuming enough carbohydrates. So as you pedal on, your brain becomes a bit foggy, your muscles become a bit achey, and the power you’re able to apply to the pedals lessens.
There’s then an all-out attack, so fierce you know it will split the peloton and produce the winner. You try to go with it, but your legs go, “Oh no.” To make matters worse, you go out the back as the peloton frenetically chases. Now it’s not a matter of you winning or even doing well, but simply doing everything in your power to keep going and . . .
Remain in the Race
To remain in the race, the human race, for as long as you possibly can. It supersedes any cycling goal you could have.
That’s why a test nutritionists working in the cycling world have developed as a way to keep what just hypothetically happened to you from actually happening has real-world significance. Because in the real world, ingesting too many low-quality carbs is worse than any bike-riding power outage from consuming too few of them. It’s been linked to a higher risk of developing major chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, as well as a higher risk of dying early from any disorder at all.
Now it’s quite possible you’ve already read an article about the development of such a test since one by Josh Croxton of Cyclingnews, “New test used by WorldTour pros finally sheds light on the individuality of carbohydrate intake, and we’ve put it to the test,” was included in RBR Issue No. 1184 under the “Other Cool Things to Read” banner. It’s also quite possible a quick review of the test results in the article will solidify something I’ve been writing for at least 30 year, something all those interested in optimal health and fitness really need to do. But more on that comes later. For now, let’s focus on the discrepancy that occurred when Croxton and Dr. Sam Impey, a former pro cycling team nutritionist, took the aforementioned test.
Carb Burn Varies
Croxton burned 89 grams of carbs an hour during the prescribed moderately intense 90-minute ride on a stationary bike done in conjunction with the periodic consumption of a special carb drink containing carbon-13 isotopes. Impey, however, only burned 69 grams of carbs per hour doing the same. Both of these numbers, though, are far lower than the intake of 120 grams of carbs per hour that’s become de rigueur during any stage of a pro tour, or any single-day race for that matter. In fact, as Croxton notes in his article, there are individuals competing on bikes in other ways (gravel bikes races and triathlons) ingesting even more than that — up to 200 grams of carbs per hour.
Translate carb grams into carb calories and the variance here is more than 500 calories per hour — and proof of the something I’ve been writing for 30 years and will restate here. That we all metabolize food at least a bit differently; therefore, the diet that works so well for me — whether it be to maximize athletic performance, engender optimal health, or maximize weight loss — may not work well for you. Or even at all.
Moreover, your metabolic process can be altered by the foods you choose to eat, lifestyle, and aging, so to be really healthy and stay that way . . .
You Need to Experiment With Your Diet Endlessly
Which is not to say you can’t gain insight from the scientific experiments like the study published online May 16 by JAMA Network Open. In it, researchers reviewed a series of health questionnaires filled out by 47,513 women all under 60 years of age when the surveying started. The researchers wanted to evaluate the long-term role of dietary carb intake and carb quality in healthy aging — which they defined as “surviving to the age of 70 years while being free from 11 major chronic diseases [such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, congestive heart failure, kidney failure, and stroke], having no impairment in memory or physical function, and being in good mental health.”
Their number crunching revealed that consuming low-quality, refined carbs — like white bread, typical pasta, pastries, bagged snacks and sweets, and sugary drinks — led to a 13 percent lower chance of healthy aging.
Consuming high-quality carbs, however — like fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains — increased the odds up to 37 percent. Furthermore, they found that you couldn’t eat too many high-quality carbs, provided they were replacing ones from refined carbs, total fat ingestion, or animal protein.
Kevin Kolodziejski began his writing career in earnest in 1989. Since then he’s written a weekly health and fitness column and his articles have appeared in magazines such as “MuscleMag,” “Ironman,” “Vegetarian Times,” and “Bicycle Guide.” He has Bachelor and Masters degrees in English from DeSales and Kutztown Universities.
A competitive cyclist for more than 30 years, Kevin won two Pennsylvania State Time Trial championships in his 30’s, the aptly named Pain Mountain Time Trial 4 out of 5 times in his 40s, two more state TT’s in his 50’s, and the season-long Pennsylvania 40+ BAR championship at 43.