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> Not so long ago, the professional cycling world's approach to fuelling was remarkably basic. [...] > These days, it is an entirely different prospect, with

> Not so long ago, the professional cycling world's approach to fuelling was remarkably basic. [...] > These days, it is an entirely different prospect, with vast sums spent on custom-built food trucks, personalised nutrition apps and meticulously planned meal regimes all in the name of performance enhancement. > For the nutritionists and chefs tasked with providing sustenance to power their team's riders over 2,170 miles in the coming weeks there are principally two dilemmas [...] > The answers are gleaned from a year-round process that begins in December during pre- season training. You know that it has become the Sport Of The 0.0001% when...

Ekaros 2y ago
Sometimes I wonder should we go to basics in many sports. With things like banning any equipment including clothing and shoes... Or with cycling giving one standard mass manufactured piece. And then a pile of standard replacement parts and standard tools. All bought from cheapest supplier randomly distributed to participants.
- LargoLasskhyfv 2y ago
  How 'spartan'... That aside, regarding cycling, standard mass manufactured piece? In one size that all have to fit to? Naa...
- sdfgtr 2y ago
  Lookup Japan's Keirin racing. I think it's pretty much that. IIRC at the top levels they also require the racers to stay onsite under observation for several days before a race.
- nradov 2y ago
  That would essentially kill cycling as a professional sport. Much of the team revenue comes from equipment sponsors. And while many of the equipment innovations get a bit ridiculous, some of them have really benefitted amateur cyclists. I would hate to still be stuck with a 10-speed drivetrain on a steel tube frame with mechanical friction shifters just because that was "standard".
  - nemo44x 2y ago
    It’s the same problem in golf. Equipment has gotten so powerful that the strategy of the game has fundamentally changed. They can not realistically continue to make courses longer. So they’re “rolling back” the ball which will limit drive distances a bit but nothing regarding clubs. And the reason why is the pro game makes a lot of money on endorsements. If a top pro is forced to use a club that is different from what amateurs need then the gravy train could stop. But yes, golf is really hard and for amateurs the innovations help make the game more enjoyable. But for pros it’s just too much.
  - skeeter2020 2y ago
    You saw this with cyclecross bikes for a long time. I had a beautiful cyclecross bike that I rode everywhere and I loved that bike but the cable-pull brakes sucked - like rear-end a car in traffic bad. Nobody made a cyclecross bike with disc brakes until the UCI allowed them in competition; now they all have disc brakes. Same for the extensive use of carbon. Love it or hate it, carbon has fueled intense innovation that you can see on display in higher-end consumer bikes and, while I don't have it or want it, electronic shifting is crisp and perfect. I don't like yet another electronic device but for a weekend rider to never need to tune a mechanical derailleur again is a game changer - you know they already have their phone with them 24/7 (especially you, roadies)
  - bluGill 2y ago
    I'd be perfectly happy on a steel tube 10-speed from 1975 if I was allowed a modern click shifter and modern disk brakes. Steel frame bikes are really nice, and 10 gears is more than you need anyway. Steel frame bikes from 1975 won't win you a modern race, but they won't be far behind.
    - cantSpellSober 2y ago
      Yes Steel is Real but the last Tour winner on a steel bike was in the '90s (and that's the subject). Bikes weigh no more than 8kg. The weight weenies are winning, carbon everything down to brake rotors. > I was allowed a modern click shifter and modern disk brakes Doubt you'd see a bike equipped with anything else at the Tour.
- cangeroo 2y ago
  It's impossible to take technology out of the equation. I.e. that one person may have superior insights in their physiology/glucose levels, or a superior diet before the race. And so on. Similarly in football, by studying your opponents in previous matches, so that you can identify weaknesses during the match, even if playing in isolation.
- OfficeChad 2y ago
  [dead]
- jamil7 2y ago
  I get what you're saying but a part of the culture in my experience is tinkering and upgrading your bike, that doesn't have to necessitate spending huge amounts of money, especially if you do a lot of work yourself and buy parts second hand. The sport might appeal less with all that stripped away, but who knows maybe it would also be interesting to standardize some aspects.
  - Ekaros 2y ago
    Why not then allow motorcycles? They are just bikes upgraded with motors... Would make competition lot shorter too and interesting. Seeing them driving around without speed limits.
    - jamil7 2y ago
      I'm guessing because they don't meet the criteria to participate, what's your point?
      - Ekaros 2y ago
        That adding a motor would be upgrade and tinkering of a bike. So why should it not be allowed? Isn't it entirely in same spirit?
        skeeter2020 2y ago
        Not sure if you honestly believe this or just trying to be "edgy" but because a motorcycle is not a bicycle.
        jamil7 2y ago
        Do you want me to enumerate the ways in which a bike is not a motorbike and the parameters in which people who are interested in bikes operate in their hobby or profession? Or are you asking why professional racing puts guidelines around what types of bikes can participate?
        1992spacemovie 2y ago
- Lwerewolf 2y ago
  Sounds like the typical case of people not looking at the core work required in order for the very expensive individual items like tailored nutrition, top-end (and even customized) parts, per-race-specific optimized chains and what not to make any sense whatsoever. If your times are, say, 20% or more above the absolute top times for a given course, you've got a long way to go by improving yourself - on just about any bike whatsoever. The super expensive parts make low single digit differences.
- wnc3141 2y ago
  It would require a different business model. Cycling is like F1 in that sponsors are trying to sell their equipment.
- tpm 2y ago
  All the cycling equipment in races has to be available in mass market and usually can be bought, if you've got the money. It's not cheap but also it's not a F1 car. It's more like.. why would you buy it when you are not a racer.
NoPicklez 2y ago
It's not a sport of the 0.0001% when anybody can go buy a bike and ride. At the top level of any sport and in the top race or competition of that sport, it is going to represent the pinnacle of that sport.
- n4r9 2y ago
  I guess the point is that in cycling - relative to other sports - money gives you an easy edge. You can afford much better equipment, nutrition, coaching etc... . Compare that to (say) football in the UK: you just need a £5 ball and a few friends, and if you show promise you can track into your local team's programme and get top quality coaching at minimal cost. It depends on the culture as well. From what I read about China, they're constantly scouting primary schools for Olympic talent, so you can come from any background and reach the top in a sport that would be limited to wealthier people in other countries.
  - Arainach 2y ago
    At levels lower than the very top, it's easier and cheaper to lose 10 pounds of your own body than 10 pounds of bike. You can go far - even into racing at low levels - on rather cheap equipment.
  - alistairSH 2y ago
    I'm not sure how that's any different than football (soccer) or football (American) or anything else. You need talent as a kid. You need money to fund travel and equipment (either from mom & dad, or the local academy/development squad, or donors). You need to find a coach who can get the most out of your genetics AND find a path for you to go pro. And on and on.
  - jamil7 2y ago
    What makes the largest difference is how physically fit and how well you can ride (technique) rather than equipment.
  - secondcoming 2y ago
    I've never seen so many young people on bikes in the UK as I do now. Sure, the bikes are likely stolen and the kids up to no good, but at least one of them has TdF potential
wasmitnetzen 2y ago
A UCI WorldTeam has a budget of about 10 to 60 million euros. That's peanuts in a lot of other sports.
- skeeter2020 2y ago
  Maybe mainstream sports, but not when you spread it across the number of fans and account for their intensity. The Tour de France is likely the only cycling event most people can name. It's an awful lot of money for a very niche sport.
  - jeroen 2y ago
    The TdF is apparently the 2nd most watched sporting event in the world, with 3.5 billion viewers. That's not very niche. -- https://www.roadtrips.com/blog/the-most-watched-sporting-events-in-the-world/ https://www.roadtrips.com/blog/the-most-watched-sporting-eve...
    - borroka 2y ago
      The number, which by the common person is to be interpreted as unique viewers, is blatantly absurd.
      - deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
  - jdietrich 2y ago
    It's a niche sport in the US, but it's huge in lots of European countries. Conversely, most Europeans would struggle to name a single baseball or American football team, but they're far from niche sports in their domestic market.
- bell-cot 2y ago
  If that budget is for an 8-man team, in a sport with a 3 1/2-week season... An (American) NFL team has 53 "active" players (plus a practice squad, plus ...), and plays a 5-month season. And has a lot of "maintain a major stadium"-type expenses, which (my guess) cycling teams don't have. Based on your figures, and trying to scale...no, the cycling team budgets really aren't peanuts by comparison. NFL Data: https://shareholder.broadridge.com/pdf/2022-packers-annual-report.pdf https://shareholder.broadridge.com/pdf/2022-packers-annual-r...
Angostura 2y ago
25,000 people took part in last month’s Ride London. It was awesome
- lormayna 2y ago
  Maratona de Dolomites, probably the most beautiful amateur cycling events in the world, has more than 50k subscribers and they selected only 9k.

Ekaros 2y ago

Sometimes I wonder should we go to basics in many sports. With things like banning any equipment including clothing and shoes... Or with cycling giving one standard mass manufactured piece. And then a pile of standard replacement parts and standard tools. All bought from cheapest supplier randomly distributed to participants.

LargoLasskhyfv 2y ago
How 'spartan'... That aside, regarding cycling, standard mass manufactured piece? In one size that all have to fit to? Naa...
sdfgtr 2y ago
Lookup Japan's Keirin racing. I think it's pretty much that. IIRC at the top levels they also require the racers to stay onsite under observation for several days before a race.
nradov 2y ago
That would essentially kill cycling as a professional sport. Much of the team revenue comes from equipment sponsors. And while many of the equipment innovations get a bit ridiculous, some of them have really benefitted amateur cyclists. I would hate to still be stuck with a 10-speed drivetrain on a steel tube frame with mechanical friction shifters just because that was "standard".
- nemo44x 2y ago
  It’s the same problem in golf. Equipment has gotten so powerful that the strategy of the game has fundamentally changed. They can not realistically continue to make courses longer. So they’re “rolling back” the ball which will limit drive distances a bit but nothing regarding clubs. And the reason why is the pro game makes a lot of money on endorsements. If a top pro is forced to use a club that is different from what amateurs need then the gravy train could stop. But yes, golf is really hard and for amateurs the innovations help make the game more enjoyable. But for pros it’s just too much.
- skeeter2020 2y ago
  You saw this with cyclecross bikes for a long time. I had a beautiful cyclecross bike that I rode everywhere and I loved that bike but the cable-pull brakes sucked - like rear-end a car in traffic bad. Nobody made a cyclecross bike with disc brakes until the UCI allowed them in competition; now they all have disc brakes. Same for the extensive use of carbon. Love it or hate it, carbon has fueled intense innovation that you can see on display in higher-end consumer bikes and, while I don't have it or want it, electronic shifting is crisp and perfect. I don't like yet another electronic device but for a weekend rider to never need to tune a mechanical derailleur again is a game changer - you know they already have their phone with them 24/7 (especially you, roadies)
- bluGill 2y ago
  I'd be perfectly happy on a steel tube 10-speed from 1975 if I was allowed a modern click shifter and modern disk brakes. Steel frame bikes are really nice, and 10 gears is more than you need anyway. Steel frame bikes from 1975 won't win you a modern race, but they won't be far behind.
  - cantSpellSober 2y ago
    Yes Steel is Real but the last Tour winner on a steel bike was in the '90s (and that's the subject). Bikes weigh no more than 8kg. The weight weenies are winning, carbon everything down to brake rotors. > I was allowed a modern click shifter and modern disk brakes Doubt you'd see a bike equipped with anything else at the Tour.
cangeroo 2y ago
It's impossible to take technology out of the equation. I.e. that one person may have superior insights in their physiology/glucose levels, or a superior diet before the race. And so on. Similarly in football, by studying your opponents in previous matches, so that you can identify weaknesses during the match, even if playing in isolation.
OfficeChad 2y ago
[dead]
jamil7 2y ago
I get what you're saying but a part of the culture in my experience is tinkering and upgrading your bike, that doesn't have to necessitate spending huge amounts of money, especially if you do a lot of work yourself and buy parts second hand. The sport might appeal less with all that stripped away, but who knows maybe it would also be interesting to standardize some aspects.
- Ekaros 2y ago
  Why not then allow motorcycles? They are just bikes upgraded with motors... Would make competition lot shorter too and interesting. Seeing them driving around without speed limits.
  - jamil7 2y ago
    I'm guessing because they don't meet the criteria to participate, what's your point?
    - Ekaros 2y ago
      That adding a motor would be upgrade and tinkering of a bike. So why should it not be allowed? Isn't it entirely in same spirit?
      - skeeter2020 2y ago
        Not sure if you honestly believe this or just trying to be "edgy" but because a motorcycle is not a bicycle.
      - jamil7 2y ago
        Do you want me to enumerate the ways in which a bike is not a motorbike and the parameters in which people who are interested in bikes operate in their hobby or profession? Or are you asking why professional racing puts guidelines around what types of bikes can participate?
      - 1992spacemovie 2y ago
Lwerewolf 2y ago
Sounds like the typical case of people not looking at the core work required in order for the very expensive individual items like tailored nutrition, top-end (and even customized) parts, per-race-specific optimized chains and what not to make any sense whatsoever. If your times are, say, 20% or more above the absolute top times for a given course, you've got a long way to go by improving yourself - on just about any bike whatsoever. The super expensive parts make low single digit differences.
wnc3141 2y ago
It would require a different business model. Cycling is like F1 in that sponsors are trying to sell their equipment.
tpm 2y ago
All the cycling equipment in races has to be available in mass market and usually can be bought, if you've got the money. It's not cheap but also it's not a F1 car. It's more like.. why would you buy it when you are not a racer.

NoPicklez 2y ago

It's not a sport of the 0.0001% when anybody can go buy a bike and ride. At the top level of any sport and in the top race or competition of that sport, it is going to represent the pinnacle of that sport.

n4r9 2y ago
I guess the point is that in cycling - relative to other sports - money gives you an easy edge. You can afford much better equipment, nutrition, coaching etc... . Compare that to (say) football in the UK: you just need a £5 ball and a few friends, and if you show promise you can track into your local team's programme and get top quality coaching at minimal cost. It depends on the culture as well. From what I read about China, they're constantly scouting primary schools for Olympic talent, so you can come from any background and reach the top in a sport that would be limited to wealthier people in other countries.
- Arainach 2y ago
  At levels lower than the very top, it's easier and cheaper to lose 10 pounds of your own body than 10 pounds of bike. You can go far - even into racing at low levels - on rather cheap equipment.
- alistairSH 2y ago
  I'm not sure how that's any different than football (soccer) or football (American) or anything else. You need talent as a kid. You need money to fund travel and equipment (either from mom & dad, or the local academy/development squad, or donors). You need to find a coach who can get the most out of your genetics AND find a path for you to go pro. And on and on.
- jamil7 2y ago
  What makes the largest difference is how physically fit and how well you can ride (technique) rather than equipment.
- secondcoming 2y ago
  I've never seen so many young people on bikes in the UK as I do now. Sure, the bikes are likely stolen and the kids up to no good, but at least one of them has TdF potential

wasmitnetzen 2y ago

A UCI WorldTeam has a budget of about 10 to 60 million euros. That's peanuts in a lot of other sports.

skeeter2020 2y ago
Maybe mainstream sports, but not when you spread it across the number of fans and account for their intensity. The Tour de France is likely the only cycling event most people can name. It's an awful lot of money for a very niche sport.
- jeroen 2y ago
  The TdF is apparently the 2nd most watched sporting event in the world, with 3.5 billion viewers. That's not very niche. -- https://www.roadtrips.com/blog/the-most-watched-sporting-events-in-the-world/ https://www.roadtrips.com/blog/the-most-watched-sporting-eve...
  - borroka 2y ago
    The number, which by the common person is to be interpreted as unique viewers, is blatantly absurd.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
- jdietrich 2y ago
  It's a niche sport in the US, but it's huge in lots of European countries. Conversely, most Europeans would struggle to name a single baseball or American football team, but they're far from niche sports in their domestic market.
bell-cot 2y ago
If that budget is for an 8-man team, in a sport with a 3 1/2-week season... An (American) NFL team has 53 "active" players (plus a practice squad, plus ...), and plays a 5-month season. And has a lot of "maintain a major stadium"-type expenses, which (my guess) cycling teams don't have. Based on your figures, and trying to scale...no, the cycling team budgets really aren't peanuts by comparison. NFL Data: https://shareholder.broadridge.com/pdf/2022-packers-annual-report.pdf https://shareholder.broadridge.com/pdf/2022-packers-annual-r...

Angostura 2y ago

25,000 people took part in last month’s Ride London. It was awesome

lormayna 2y ago
Maratona de Dolomites, probably the most beautiful amateur cycling events in the world, has more than 50k subscribers and they selected only 9k.