Tadej Pogacar set new records on climbs like San Luca, Galibier, Pla d’Adet, Isola 2000. Despite a seriously disrupted preparation due to a nasty crash in the spring, rival Jonas Vingegaard set a record on the Col de Pertus, when Pogacar suffered from what looked like a hunger crisis.

Plateau de Beille towers above all that. It has already been described as the greatest climbing achievement ever. Pogacar shattered the record of Marco Pantani from 1998 as he rode just under 40 minutes to complete the 16 kilometer climb with an average gradient of almost 8 percent. That was 3’44” faster than Pantani. Pogacar conquered the climb at an average speed of 23.5km/h.

The numbers two and three on the climb, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel, also rode faster than Pantani. Even more impressive is that the entire top 10 performed better than Lance Armstrong did on Plateau de Beille in 2004. To underline Pogacar’s amazing performance: his time was almost 6 minutes faster than that of Armstrong, the seven-time Tour winner who saw his victories taken away after confessions about doping use.

According to @CyclingGraphs on X, Derek Gee who finished 9th in 2024 Tour de France (+27min21s to Pogacar) would have won every Sky era Tour by more than 10 minutes. Egan Bernal in 2024 is around his 2019 level and he finished 29th in the 2024 Tour.

Comparison is complex. Weather, bicycles and asphalt quality can vary, as do competition conditions. Pogacar was able to follow Matteo Jorgenson and his leader Vingegaard for the first 11 kilometers of the climb.

Since Pantani, technological leaps have been made in bicycles, apparel and aerodynamics. However, doubts remain because even Pantani was riding using banned “fuel”.

How credible are the current performances then, and those of Pogacar? One thing that very few people talk about is the dark past of Pogacar’s team CEO Mauro Gianetti and team manager Matxin Fernandez who were working in cycling in the darkest era of the sport for teams like Mapei or Saunier Duval.

At the same time, Pogacar has a clean reputation. Moreover, he has performed at a consistent level since his debut and throughout the year, with 17 victories this season.

Teams hardly share any physical data due to privacy and competition. But it is more or less confirmed that Pogacar produced an average of 6.8 to 6.9 watts per kilo of body weight for 40 minutes on Plateau de Beille.

“That is at the limit of what is physiologically possible,” exercise scientist Jan Boone from Ghent University says. “For 40 minutes at 7 watts per kilo you have to achieve VO2 max values ​​(which express how well a body can convert inhaled oxygen into energy) that have never been reported before.”

At the same time, Boone – who is also working for Lotto Dstny – calls the performance credible. Like Vingegaard and Evenepoel, Pogacar is an exceptional talent whose achievements are anything but out of the blue. In addition, young riders are scouted earlier and trained to become top riders.

“The decline in performance capacity has also become smaller due to evolution around recovery, sleep, nutrition and training plans,” says Boone. “And thanks to data collection, both riders and their trainers know their bodies. Now everything is done based on heart rate and wattage.”

An important criticism of Pogacar is that he rides too offensively and thus makes himself vulnerable to suspicious minds.

“Compared to today, we were almost amateurs when I rode my first Vuelta six years ago. Teams push each other forward in technology, nutrition, altitude training and training plans”, said Pogacar.

“I have had a hard time mentally following our nutritionist’s plans. It took me about four years,” said Jonas Vingegaard about the strict nutrition that cyclists must follow. “Today, better knowledge about nutrition allows riders to absorb more sugars by eating differently. But that poses physical challenges, with riders having to train their stomach and intestines to cope.

The post What made cyclists so fast today compared to 5 years ago? appeared first on Cycling Today.

Riding a bike is one of those things that seem to fit many bills: health, entertainment, and transport. However, cycling is much more than just a toy or a fun way to travel. It can become a useful routine that can ultimately change your life.

A study recently published in the journal Sports Medicine has shown those who habitually travel by bike live longer, healthier lives.

The review looked at 17 previous studies, encompassing a total data set of 478,847 participants, and found that casual cyclists – those for whom riding was a way of life and not merely a get-fit-quick fix – had a 23% better chance of avoiding premature death, as well as a significantly reduced risk of cardiovascular illness.

Epidemiologists concluded that just 130 minutes a week is sufficient to benefit life expectancy; that’s one commute to work and back, plus a trip or two to the shops. On top of that, there is a myriad of benefits to spending time outdoors, from getting your dose of vitamin D to significantly improving your mental health.

It’s easier to get into the habit of cycling as the weather gets warmer, when it’s more enjoyable to be outside. But for best results, make it stick.

The post Cyclists live longer, a new study suggests appeared first on Cycling Today.

While ultimately an athlete’s diet is a personal decision when it comes to nutrient intake, there are some concrete scientific concepts that, if understood, will help to inform overall nutrition strategies. Understanding the foundation of nutrition, and the role these things play in performance, fueling, and recovery will lead to a better approach overall, regardless of an athlete’s high level strategy.

What is a calorie, Calorie and Kilocalorie?

One of the building blocks of our modern understanding of nutrition and fueling for sport is the calorie. While we’re inundated with this word, it’s easy to overlook or miss what an actual calorie is. At the very basic level a calorie is a unit of measure that is used to measure energy in a laboratory. The Calories that are listed on food packages like gels and energy bars are actually kilocalories, or 1,000 calories (as measured in a lab). A Calorie (as found on food) is the amount of energy needed to raise 1 kilogram of water 1 degree Celsius. This measure of food energy can also be expressed in kilojoules where 1 kilocalorie (kcal) equals 4.184 kilojoules (kj). So, the Calorie on a package of food is 1,000 times larger than that used in chemistry and physics.

Historically the kcals in a particular food product where calculated based on the direct amount of energy they could produce. This was measured using a complex system where the food was burned and the resulting rise in water temperature was measured. Now, food manufactures use an estimation system where standard values for fat, carbohydrate, protein, and alcohol are used to provide Calories. These average values are 4 kcal/g for protein, 4 kcal/g for carbohydrate, 9 kcal/g for fat, and 7 kcal/g for alcohol. So, the label on an energy bar that contains 10 g of protein, 20 g of carbohydrate and 9 g of fat would read 201 kcals or Calories.1 With this understanding of Calories it’s easy to see the direct link between the food we take in, and the energy it provides to fuel our activities.

How are Calories Used

The number of Calories in food is a measure of how much potential energy that food possesses. As discussed above each macronutrient carries a certain amount of energy per gram. When food is ingested into the body, this potential energy is unlocked (burnt) to fuel us. The body needs Calories (energy) for everything it does. Our basal metabolic rate, simply the energy needed to keep us alive, needs fuel, along with digestion, physical activity, and more. The Calorie is a vital building block of our body’s ability to maintain proper function.

Our bodies “burn” the Calories in food through metabolic processes where enzymes break the carbohydrates into glucose and other sugars, the fats into glycerol and fatty acids and the proteins into amino acids. These broken down molecules are then transported through the bloodstream to the cells where they are used for immediate use as fuel, or sent to the final stages of the metabolic process where they react with oxygen to release their stored energy.2

Does the source of Calories matter? While the decision to eat certain types of foods, and where those foods comes from, is largely personal conviction, it is worth looking at the comparison between “whole” and processed foods as seen from the body’s perspective. The primary concept to understand is that it takes energy to eat. Chewing, swallowing, churning the stomach, making stomach acid, producing enzymes, it all takes energy. Scientists have three names for this fact: dietary induced thermogenesis (DIT), thermal effect of food (TEF), or specific dynamic action (SDA). What’s important to note about these processes as it relates to athletes and fueling is that processed food takes less energy to digest and absorb, thus there is a greater net Calorie gain when compared to whole foods that use more energy when digested.3 If weight maintenance or loss are a goal this could be a particularly vital consideration when planning intake for any time during a training cycle.

Balancing Burn and Intake for Athletes

The concept of “Calories in, Calories Out” takes on a much different meaning for athletes who are looking to maximize their performance. There must be an appropriate amount of Calories available to fuel training sessions and recovery. However, too much and weight gain may become an issue which could negatively impact performance. Knowing exactly how many Calories one needs isn’t a precise science, as every athlete is different in regards to their unique energy systems, body composition, and training regiment. Although, there are some guidelines that can help to better understand the body’s energy needs in relation to training. To better estimate caloric requirements athletes can categorize training sessions based on intensity.

• Mild activity or rest day: 12 -14 Calories per pound of body weight.
• Up to 1 hour of moderate exercise: 15-17 Calories per pound.
• High activity = 1-2 hours of moderate exercise: 18-24 Calories per pound
• Very High = 3+ hours of training 24-29 Calories per pound

You can also estimate the number of Calories you need on a particular day by adding together the amount needed for your estimated or measured Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), the amount needed for activity when not training, and the amount needed for the training time for your specific sport. RMR is typically estimated at 11-12 Calories per pound, although this can change dramatically based on any number of individual scenarios.4 When all of these factors are taken into consideration it’s easy to see how an athlete in training could need dramatically more Calories to sustain their activity than those less active, or non active individuals. Fueling for performance is key for those that are looking for a healthy and sustainable approach to training.

An individual’s approach to diet and nutrition can vary much in the same way that every athlete takes a unique approach to their training. While many of these concepts are a personal decision in regards to fueling and what an athlete puts into their body, there are foundational principles that all athletes should be aware of. Understanding what a Calorie is, how it’s used, and how they should be adjusted in relation to training goals is paramount. Everybody needs energy from food to simply sustain life. Factor in caloric burn from training volume and intensity and the approach should begin to look very different.

The post What you need to know about calories as a cyclist appeared first on Cycling Today.

The post Small changes in diet could help you live longer, says news study appeared first on Cycling Today.

When scientists investigated 116 professional road cyclists and looked at the types of overuse injuries suffered over the previous year, some startling facts emerged: 94% of the cyclists had suffered some kind of overuse injury during that period and 45% of the injuries were to the lower back.

There are a number of factors that can contribute to riders suffering from lower back pain. These include incorrect bike fit, limited mobility or flexibility and insufficient levels of conditioning or fitness.

The post Lower back pain on the bike – what should you do? appeared first on Cycling Today.

A team from the Netherlands’ Utrecht University surveyed 50,000 Dutch people, examining their mobility patterns.

Researchers determined that “The average Dutch person cycles about 75 minutes each week. That accounts for over a quarter of all trips made.”

The scientists then put this survey data into the the Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT). When they plugged the data from their survey into this public health tool, they found that the average Dutch cyclist would live about six months longer thanks to their healthy habit.

Utrecht University professor Carlijn Kamphuis worked on the study and pointed out this data suggests that, at least in the Netherlands, “it appears that about 6.5 thousand premature deaths are saved each year through cycling.”

“This is important information to convince policy makers about the significance of promoting cycling measures,” Kamphuis said.

“The figures speak for themselves. An investment in better cycle paths, for example, is easily recovered through the enormous health benefits and potential financial savings. There are also other benefits from cycling including improved air quality, reduced traffic and as people move more, less burden due to illness.”

The post Every hour you ride a bike adds one hour to your life, says study appeared first on Cycling Today.

The study was a systematic review, meaning the team of researchers examined all relevant research papers and combined the results. The supplements examined included vitamins A, B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B6 (pyridoxine), B9 (folic acid), C, D, E, beta-carotene, and the minerals calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium and selenium. Multivitamins were defined as including most of these vitamins and minerals.

In studies testing the four common supplements of multivitamins, vitamin D, calcium and vitamin C, there was no reduction in incidence of heart disease, stroke or premature death. This means there was no benefit from taking them, but also no harm.

They also evaluated less common supplements that did have positive impacts on early death, heart disease and stroke. Here they found folic acid supplements showed a reduction in heart disease and stroke.

It was calculated that in order to prevent one case of heart disease or stroke, 111 people needed to be taking folic acid supplements (this is termed the “numbers needed to treat”). For stroke, 167 people would need to take folic acid to prevent one case, and 250 people would have to take B-complex vitamins (which contain folic acid, which is vitamin B9) to prevent one case.

Before you rush out to buy folic acid supplements, there are a few cautions. First, there are some concerns that high levels of folic acid in the blood may increase the risk of prostate cancer, although the results are mixed.

Second, of the studies testing folic acid supplements, stroke was reduced in only two of the seven gold-standard studies. One of these was a very large study of 20,000 people in China. China does not have a folic acid food fortification program, whereas in Australia and the US, it’s commonly added to breads and breakfast cereals.

While a small benefit for taking folic acid was found, researchers also found some adverse effects from supplementation. Among those taking statin medication to lower blood cholesterol, slow or extended release vitamin B3 (niacin) increased the risk of early death by 10%, with a “number needed to harm” of 200. This means 200 people would have to take statins and niacin before we would see one case of early death.

For studies testing “antioxidant” supplements, there was marginally significant increased risk of early death, with a “number needed to harm” of 250 people.

The most studied supplement was vitamin D. Researchers found no benefits for heart disease or stroke prevention, but also no harm. This was a surprise, given vitamin D is commonly taken for other conditions, such as diabetes. But there was no benefit seen for early death, although the study’s authors acknowledged longer follow-up may be needed.

The authors concluded there is low-to-moderate quality evidence for taking folic acid for the prevention of heart disease and stroke, and also for taking B-complex vitamins that include folic acid for stroke.

Most people in Western countries don’t have an optimal diet. This review shows taking supplements as an “insurance policy” against poor dietary habits does not work. If it did, there would have been a reduction in early death

Taking supplements is very different from eating whole foods. Complications or health problems due to nutrient intakes are virtually always due to taking supplements, not eating foods. When you concentrate on one vitamin, mineral or nutrient in a supplement, you miss out on the other phytonutrients found in plant foods that contribute to overall health.

The increase in early death for taking some categories of supplements should be a wake-up call that stronger regulations are needed around supplements, and people need a lot more support to eat better.

The bottom line is we need to eat more nutrient-rich whole foods, including foods high in folate such as green leafy vegetables, legumes, seeds, poultry, eggs, cereals and citrus fruits.

The post Vitamin and mineral supplements could do more harm than good, says new study appeared first on Cycling Today.

If getting faster is your goal, you need to add a little structure. Here are three rides to include in your weekly repertoire that will ramp up your speed in no time.

Engine Room Rides

Long, steady endurance rides are essential for building—and maintaining—speed. Also known as Zone 2, moderate, or base-building rides, these aerobic intensity, fat-burning rides are not fast, but they help you become fast by creating a massive aerobic engine. These rides develop your type 1 muscle fibers, which house the bulk of your muscle’s energy-producing mitochondria.

Long aerobic-focused rides stimulate mitochondria growth and improve their function, so you become an all-star fat burner, which helps you preserve the glycogen you need to hit the gas and go faster longer. Those type 1 fibers are also key to clearing lactate, and the better you are at clearing lactate, the harder, faster, and longer you can go before your muscles scream for you to slow back down. Do at least one Engine Room ride a week. They’re done at about 65 to 74 percent of max heart rate (MHR), 50 to 70 percent of functional threshold power (FTP) and about a 4 to 5 on a 1 to 10 scale where 10 is the hardest. A solid engine-building ride for most of us is two to three hours. Aim for one (or more if you have time) each week.

Cruise Control Rides

Once you’re up to speed, you want to be able to hold that to hang with the pack without having to fade to—or worse, drop off—the back of the pack. These rides, which are “fun fast” (as opposed to “oh my God, I’m dying” fast), will also help you hold your own in a fast-moving paceline. During your ride, aim for two to four longer efforts (10 to 30 minutes in length; 5 to 15 minutes easy pedaling in between) that increase your breathing and elevate your heart rate to around 80 to 85 percent of your MHR; 85 to 90 percent of FTP, and a 7 on a 1 to 10 scale. It should feel as though you’re trying to hang with someone slightly faster than you. Aim for one Cruise Control ride a week.</p>

Throttle Twisters

You can’t go mad fast if you never go mad fast. That means high-intensity interval training (HIIT). These are meant to be Dear-Lord-Make-It-Stop fast. But they’re short, so there’s that. HIIT work raises your lactate threshold, so you can ride faster and farther before your legs slam on the brakes. Aim to do four to six very hard or max efforts ranging from 30 seconds to two minutes; in between, spin easy for twice the length of the interval. They should be done 95 to 100 percent MHR; 100 to 130 percent FTP; and 9 to 10 on that 1 to 10 scale. Do one ride that includes Throttle Twisters each week.

The post 3 training rides to do every week if you want to be faster appeared first on Cycling Today.

But since most cyclists have long been prescribed to fuel up with carbs before and after workouts, wouldn’t calorie and carbohydrate restriction hurt your performance on the bike?

Simply putting it intermittent fasting isn’t a diet, intermittent fasting is a meal timing plan. You are focusing on a specific period in which you are withholding from calories (fasting), followed by consuming your calories (feeding). The problem people make with fasting they overthink it. It’s best to keep it manageable and in keeping with your lifestyle.

The two most popular forms of intermittent fasting are the 5:2 model and the 16-hour fast. The 5:2 model involves eating a normal 2,000-calorie diet five days a week, and on the other two days calories are restricted to around 500.

The 16-hour fast is a daily fast that involves eating all of your calories in an eight-hour window and not eating for the other 16 hours of your day. Normally, this involves eating an early dinner and forgoing breakfast until the fast is complete. When including this type of diet into a workout routine such as cycling, you would wake up without eating and complete a workout in a carbohydrate-deprived state, relying on fat stores for fuel instead.

When practiced properly, it seems to help not only with weight loss, but also with general health. “Our research finds that alternate-day fasting can reduce blood pressure up to 10 percent and lower LDL cholesterol 10 to 25 percent, and it significantly reduces inflammation markers that are linked to heart disease,” says Krista Varady, PhD, associate professor of kinesiology and nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago and author of The Every Other Day Diet. “Our volunteers also lost 10 to 30 pounds in 8 to 12 weeks,” says Varady. Other research has found that intermittent fasting can lower insulin levels and improve blood sugar, so it may be protective against diabetes as well.

It might even help you live longer. In a study by University of Florida health scientists, researchers had 24 volunteers alternate one day of eating 25 percent of their daily caloric intake (or 500 calories for someone eating 2,000 calories a day) with one day of eating 175 percent of their recommended daily calories (3,500 for the same person). At the end of the three-week study, the volunteers had higher levels of key beneficial proteins, including SIRT3, which helps protect cells and is known to promote longevity, as well as SIRT1, which has also been linked to longevity.

On the performance side, a 2010 study published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport found that volunteers who performed cycling workouts after an overnight fast five days a week for four weeks improved their ability to use oxygen and tap into their energy stores better than those who ate before training. The fasters also had far bigger gains in their V02 max—a nearly 10 percent raise compared to a 2.5 percent gain. These were untrained adults, but studies on competitive cyclists have shown that when riders did their training in a fasted state they lost weight and improved their insulin sensitivity and post-workout recovery without harming their endurance performance.

The trick is to work it into your riding schedule. Since most cyclists ride or train about four days a week, you would plan your feast days on your riding days and your fast days on those where you’re taking off or going super easy. “If you choose to ride on your fast days, plan to eat your 500-calorie meal soon after your ride so you don’t end up feeling hungry the rest of the day,” advises Varady. Make sure also to get enough protein, fat, and fiber in that meal to maximize satiety.

“It takes about five or six fasted days to get used to it,” she says, noting that only about 10 percent of people in their studies drop out. The main adverse effects at first are headaches and moodiness, which Varady blames mostly on dehydration. “People forget how much fluid they get from food. So when you fast, it’s really important to drink a lot of fluids throughout the day. That helps a lot.”

The post Can fasting make you a better cyclist? appeared first on Cycling Today.

Comparing this climb to the hardest ones in Europe we’ll find out it’s tougher than Angliru which has maximum gradient of 24%, while Muro di Sormano from Il Lombardia tops at 25%.

Daniel Martin rode the climb and said: “Hiked up pic de Carroi from home. Considering starting a petition for it to be paved although perhaps wait until I have retired. 5km average 16% and no idea how steep the final ramp is”.

Hiked up pic de Carroi from home. Considering starting a petition for it to be paved although perhaps wait until I have retired ? 5km average 16% and no idea how steep the final ramp is pic.twitter.com/2IzT5q79HD

— Dan Martin (@DanMartin86) November 25, 2020

Nathan Haas added: “I’ve done it on my gravel bike. I can attest to it being the stage for the most insane final on cycling history.” He also admitted even he had to walk stretches of the punishing ascent.

The post Hell starts here: This paved climb in Andorra has 34% gradients appeared first on Cycling Today.