Tadej Pogacar at the Tour de France - How much protein and carbs does the World Champion consume on a mountain stage?

How much does a pro cyclist eat during the Tour de France? This is one of the most interesting questions that most sports fans in the world are interested in, and it varies widely depending on the rider and the day of the competition. Velon gathers some of this data from the riders throughout the race including Tadej Pogacar and they have revealed how many carbs and protein the World Champion consumes in a mountain stage.

More and more riders have nutrition as an absolutely key factor in cycling, as training the stomach to absorb high amounts of carbs aids in the energy reserves and is one of the biggest evolutions pro athletes have had in recent years. This does also mean that on the daily, the riders at the Tour consume an enormous amount of food, be it calories, carbs or protein, so as to sustain the performance day after day in an incredibly difficult environment.

The amount of food consumed depends on the stages. Much has been said about the 'magical' 120 number, which is the amount of carbohydrate grams riders are now able to digest per hour, but this is only reserved for specific days or moments of races, as it is difficult on the stomach on unsustainable in the long-term. Easier days on the bike lead to smaller energy expenditure. Nevertheless, riders can consume from 6000 to 8000 calories a day in the sport's biggest race - the same applying to other Grand Tours.

According to Velon, on a five-hour mountain stage at the Tour de France, Pogacar consumes around 1200 grams of carbs and 150 grams of protein. This has also been split according to the times of day:

Breakfast: 230g carbs; 25g protein
Pre-Race: 30g carbs; 1g protein
During Race: 460g carbs; 4g protein
Post-Race: 480g carbs; 120g protein

This insight first and foremost provides very interesting data on a rider that is at the absolute top of the sport, allowing fans to have an idea of what it takes to be able to fuel the body at the top sport. Athletes have to be able to do this on the daily too with feeding, which in itself is a key part of training that is rarely discussed.

Coaches of rival teams will be aware of these numbers and implement them on their own riders, naturally, but there are a few interesting conclusions to be taken from it. Breakfast is typically the most fat-dense meal of the day; right before and during the race the riders opt for food that has very little to no protein whilst focusing almost exclusively in the content of carbs. 460 carbs in a 5-hour race will also equal to an average of 92 grams of carbs per hour.

Post-race there is the need for immediate feeding after the finish line, a post-race meal, and a hefty dinner, which see the grand majority of all the protein consumed in a day, which aids in recovery in the great part. These nutrition plans are trained during the year and also tested and implemented in smaller stage-races throughout the year, which is one of the reasons why it is important for Grand Tour contenders to participate in stage-races all-year round even if they thrive in other aspects of the sport.