Tomorrow we run and there is no eye that is not focused on the rainbow jersey that's right yesterday he discovered the memorial stone with which the stretch of Colle Pinzuto was named after him. The fourth Strade Bianche no one has ever won it, even Cancellara is stuck at three, and one wonders if anyone will be able to get in the way of prevent Pogacar from breaking this record too.
He is doing his part and in the last few days he and his teammates are giving consistency of the carbohydrate load to show up at the start with nice and full glycogen stores. If it is true that nutrition is the frontier that has advanced the most in determining the performance of athletes, the attention of the UAE Team Emirates on this aspect it is really widespread (in the opening, Pogacar is drinking the Magic Cherry post-run, ed.). While others use various apps for distributing nutrients throughout the day, they have developed an exclusive one. Speaking with Gorka Prieto, responsible for nutrition for Pogacar and his band, it is clear that nothing is left to chance.
What kind of race is the Strade Bianche in terms of your work?
In the end it's a race like any other, the distances vary, but the food is handled more or less like in a great classic. Finally we define the feed plan whether it's a classic, a mountain stage or a flat stage, we treat the Strade Bianche like a classic.
Does the frequent transitions between asphalt and dirt roads make it more difficult for athletes to eat?
They are very good at that. The team has had this approach to nutrition for 6-7 years and the riders know that If they don't eat the exact amount at the exact spot, they can find themselves in a hunger crisis after two hours of running.So they're careful, and the sporting director is also good at reminding them of this on the radio.
When does it start? feed plan of a classic like the Strade Bianche?
Since the beginning of the week. Each rider has a program determined by his coach and, based on that, a nutrition plan must be made for each one.Different amounts from each other, based on the watts they produce and the objective we have for each of the riders in the race. In the last two days they started doing glycogen loading, so these last two days they had a higher carb food.
Will the race day breakfast also be personalized?
Everyone has their own plan, Tadej too, I can't say what they take because they choose it. I indicate the macronutrient target that they must respectI make the menu for some people, while others prefer to make it themselves, following what's written on the app. What I do for everyone is indicate the amount you need before, during and after running. How many carbohydrates per hour in the race, as well as the amount of sodium, but the choice of food is left to the riderAnd recovery is also personal: it depends on the watts they put in, the time, and all the other factors involved in the race.
So in the morning when the masseur puts the water bottles on the bike, everyone has their choice, isn't everything the same for everyone?
As you know, we have products of energy which are the same for everyoneHowever, the amount of food they eat per hour varies from rider to rider. It depends on their physique and also their role. For example, breakfast will not be the same for Tadej and Florian (Vermeersch, world champion in gravel, ed.), because if we look at the weight there is a big difference (Pogacar weighs 66 kilos, while the Belgian reaches 85, ed.). A bigger one eats more than a smaller one (Gorka laughs, ed.).
Depending on the running role, will the diet also be unbalanced?
Those who have to shoot right away will eat more at breakfast, before the race and also during the race. He must not lose his energy, that's why even the previous day's diet is differentWe always look at a rider's weight. If you weigh more, since they're all skinny, it's because you have more muscle, right? So more muscle and more glycogen stores, so they can eat moreThis is why it's different between an 80-kilo rider, who will express greater overall power during the race, and one who weighs 60 kilos. This is why they are capable of and need to eat more, even during the race.
Will someone like Tadej, who has to finish, change his diet in the second half of the race, or should his carbohydrate intake remain constant for now?
They remain more or less fixed. In the end what changes is that Maybe in the final he'll take a caffeine gel, because it gives him the effect of being more awakeAmong the Enervit products, we have the gel with caffeine, with sodium, but also without caffeine, so it depends on where it will have to attack, but the amount of carbohydrates he takes in between gels and water bottles it's more or less the same from start to finish.
Instead, regarding sodium, how much does it change with temperature?
It's a speech very particular and subjective, a test should be done to see how much each rider loses. At the same temperature and humidity, one person can lose one gram of sodium every hour, another only 300 mg. It is not possible to give a general figure, but in the instructions we send to the masseurs, we divide the days into hot, cold and those we call warm, that is, those that are neither hot nor cold. Like tomorrow at the Strade Bianche, which will be between 13 and 18 degrees.
Are supplies at the Strade Bianche taken from the car or always from the road?
There are plenty of places to avoid going to the car, and that should be enough. Maybe some of the teammates will be asked to go to the car, but we're talking about... a particular race, it's not easy to go back and then go forward again, that's why there are so many supply points.
On the handlebars, do they only indicate what they need to eat or also the places where they can find it?
Mostly what they have to take and where they find suppliesAt the categorized climbs, when the climb ends. The numbers are established in advance, and even if I'm not in the race and a sports director has some doubts, he calls me and I can see what they're doing through the app. And all this information then becomes valuable for managing recovery. What they have to eat immediately after the stage and also at dinner. The fact of having the best chefs in the WorldTour It helps a lot. Yeah. Since December we have been working on recipes that riders like and we stopped carrying the rest.
You said that the Strade Bianche is treated like a classic, but for example it's shorter than the Tour of Flanders: what's the difference?
It definitely changes that the energy consumed will be lower than in FlandersWhat ultimately changes is not just the quantity, but also the timing of when you eat and when digestion begins before the race. Everything is taken into account, even what they'll eat on the bike. At these levels, nothing really can escape your attention.
