"It was practically impossible for the chef to make a mistake" - Still no answer to food poisoning that threatened to cost Primoz Roglic La Vuelta victory

Primoz Roglic soared to a record-equalling fourth Red Jersey at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana. Despite only taking total control of the Red Jersey after stage 19 though, the Slovenian's hopes were seriously threatened on stage 20 as food poisoning swept through the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe camp.

A total of three of Roglic's domestique (Daniel Martinez, Patrick Gamper & Nico Denz ed.) were forced to abandon on stage 20, and as the team around the Red Jersey dropped like flies, the was genuine concern that Roglic too could begin to feel the effects of the illness. Thankfully that wasn't the case, but the drama was very real and it's still very unclear as to just what caused the food poisoning, as revealed by departing Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe food nutritionist, Dr Tim Podlogar in conversation with Siol.  

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"I don't think we will ever know the exact reason, we can only guess," the food specialist begins. "We had problems from both the riders and the staff. At the race, we had our own chef who prepared food for the cyclists in the kitchen truck. The staff always enjoy their meals at the hotel. This means that it was practically impossible for the chef to make a mistake."

That's not to say Dr Podlogar doesn't have a theory though. "The ingredients for the cyclists' food are often taken from the hotel kitchen where the team is staying, and we speculate that this was the source of the problems, as this was the only junction where the cyclists' and staff's food sources came from," he muses honestly.

Given the growing importance of diet and nutrition in a rider's day-to-day life, Dr Podlogar has seen a busier season than any in his final year at the team. "We had high ambitions, we wanted to win the Tour de France, but we were not ready for it, nor were we capable of it in terms of resources or. helping cyclists achieve. If anyone thought otherwise, they were lying to themselves," he explains. "Unfortunately, this then meant in practice that those of us who were present in the training process had to take on additional work that we did not have to do until now, because we were not properly staffed."

"And when a cyclist like Primoz Roglic comes to the team, of course you wish him the best and will do everything in your power. I personally couldn't bear to see nutrition end up being the reason we didn't win the Tour," he concludes.

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