Here, we catch up with Team BikeExchange - Jayco nutritionist Laura Martinelli to talk carbs, organic ingredients and peak performance.
Laura, thank you for your time. How long have you been with the team?
This is my first season with Team BikeExchange - Jayco. In the past I’ve worked with a number of teams including IAM Cycling, who would later disband, and the diabetic outfit Team Novo Nordisk. That was an interesting one because your priorities change from purely performance to health. Key with that team was managing the glucose situation.
How much time do you spend with the team?
Physically, I’ve been with the team at training camps, like altitude camps in Sierra Nevada. We had one small camp there where it was me, a chef, a coach, a masseur and six riders. But most of the time I work remotely with the chef. We’re lucky as we have five chefs to cover more than 400 days of racing. That’s for the women’s team, too.
What is the fuelling set-up at races?
At a race, there are two simple scenarios: we either have a chef there or we don’t. If we don’t, we contact the hotel and plan the riders’ meals accordingly, with the hotel chef doing the cooking.
If we have a chef at a race, they’ll use the hotel kitchen, though we have a fridge truck to store ingredients. This ensures the high standard of raw ingredients, from pasta to jam, from meat to fish. Our meats, for example, are generally organic and grass-fed. We look to avoid additives if at all possible. We’re lucky as our manager is sensitive to nutrition and quality, so we have a good budget for food. And it makes sense. The riders eat omelettes every day before the race, for example. So it wouldn’t add up if you have a high-quality protein powder but not pay attention to the eggs that you’re eating. We store a lot of stock in our service course in Varese near Milan.
Do a rider’s dietary needs change through the season?
We do periodise carbohydrate content of a rider’s diet plus pay attention to their fibre content. In the first part of the preparation phase (November and December) we’ll reduce carbohydrates. They’re riding big volumes but not at high intensities, so that’s fine. It helps the riders become a little leaner and rely on burning fat more as a fuel. Into January and February, the training load increases, as does carbohydrate content. And at races it’s always high.
As for fat and protein, in terms of percentages they’re roughly the same (around 10-20%), but the grammes are higher as the season rolls on. Ultimately, this is a broad overview as we even periodise by day and session in an effort to deliver peak performance.
Do the riders occasionally train fasted?
We do in November and December as it’s an effective strategy, albeit it stressful, so we don’t do too much of this. Many of our riders would ride fasted on rollers for an hour before breakfast, while on the road they might ride for two or three hours but nice and easy. It’s important on these rides that they don’t eat carbohydrates but hydrate well. They’ll also wake and have a couple of coffees because caffeine mobilises fatty acids without interrupting the fasting.
Sometimes we do what I’d call low-carb rides, where they’ll have a protein- and fat-based breakfast and then onto bike. And maybe just a touch of protein powder in their bottles. If it’s really cold they burn more calories through thermogenesis, so we might add a touch of honey and agave syrup in the protein bottle. If you can stay below 30g carbs an hour, you’re still training low. When home, they’ll have a normal breakfast.
When not ‘training low’, do the riders fuel constantly?
We certainly advise riders to eat several snacks during the day. It’s important to snack as every time you activate your digestive system, you burn more energy. Also, you don’t arrive at dinner starving and over-eat. All riders, whether elite or recreational, should play around with healthy snacks. If you do, you can train harder, which will increase the amount of human growth hormone that you’ll produce and benefit from when sleeping.
Carb snacks, like malt loaf, are good but have protein snacks, too. And have a protein source before going to bed, something like Greek yoghurt or milk with even some casein protein sprinkled in. Research shows this maximises muscle repair and rebuild overnight.
Do the riders take any supplements?
Vitamin D is key, especially during the winter season when you don’t assimilate enough through sunshine. Cycling’s not an impact activity so the incidence of osteoporosis can be higher compared to other sports. Vitamin D is important for bone mineral mobilisation as well as immunity. Iron’s important, too, though we won’t supplement a rider if they’re not deficient. Glutamine and branched chain amino acids are also good for recovery.
Finally, we all like the ‘occasional’ celebratory drink. What would you recommend?
Red wine is the best option as it’s rich in antioxidants. But don’t have too much!