Le Tour Feed Bags....

SteK

What's to be found in these accident cursed nose-bags?!?

Depending what you read you're told the 'average' tour rider consumes around 6000-8000 calories a day. I suppose that's easy done with 3 of Domino's finest... but good calories must involve some serious consumption!!

I'm assuming there are bundles of high end carb-loaded sport supplements in the bags - but what exactly??

'pologies if it's been asked before!

Ste

graeme_s-2

I can't remember where (eurosport, ITV or the BBC website's "as it happens" text coverage), but I'm sure I heard a claim that one rider was seen eating a Mr Kipling's apple pie sometime during the last week

I suppose even the pros must get bored of eating the same energy bars all day every day.

SteK

Yeah?! Jeez, I could just go a couple of Mr.Kiplings pies... *resist*

I read on the BBC 'as it happens' site that Valverde was seen throwing away some Dairylea cheese triangles earlier today, hence the question really, wondered what other lovelies appear....

I've got this image of team leaders demanding all the chocolate French Fancies...

Bronzie

It'll depend on the rider to an extent - think they do feature jam sarnies and the like if that's what the rider fancies - only so much sickly gloop you force down yer throat.

Nuggs

SteK wrote:

I've got this image of team leaders demanding all the chocolate French Fancies...

The worst flavour. Yellow or pink for me please...

In The Beautiful Machine there's a whole chapter (loosely) devoted to one of Lance Armstrong's muffins* (tasted horrible apparently).

*not a euphamism

SteK

Bronzie wrote:

It'll depend on the rider to an extent

Ahh I see, I kinda thought they all picked up generic bags - are they team/rider specific??

NUGGS wrote:

Lance Armstrong's muffins* (tasted horrible apparently).

I doubt they taste as bad as the protein/carb flapjacks I've been known to make to follow gym sessions. Wrong - on various levels. My girlfriend claims they taste like dog biscuits (which in itself throws up various questions...)

cygnet

There's a Slipstream/Garmin recipe in amongst this article here:

http://tiny.cc/N6gHF

No chipotles though.

ellieb

I was surprised to see them knocking back small bottles of coke (especially as Boonen wasn't there ho ho) I would have thought that would be way too fizzy to drink before tackling a climb

SteK

Good caffine kick I'm guessing! There's a guy I know who used to train a lot back in the mid-80s and the thing then was to drink flat coke with pro-plus in it - during an event. Worked especially well seeing they had a strict zero-caffine intake for 6 weeks coming up to the event.

Reckon Boonen would quite enjoy that that coke experience too!

That's a tasty looking recipe - although I tend to go for the sweet option, never considered savoury bars....

Nuggs

ellieb wrote:

I was surprised to see them knocking back small bottles of coke (especially as Boonen wasn't there ho ho) I would have thought that would be way too fizzy to drink before tackling a climb

IIRC top marathon runners swear by flat coke - you get all the caffiene and sugar kick but none of the gassiness.

Maybe the riders' cokes had been pre-flattened?

graeme_s-2

Can't remember if it was yesterday or the day before, but in the ITV4 highlights show, on one of the climbs you clearly saw a rider by himself handed a can of coke from a spectator. The rider opened it, took a mouthful and then slung it into the bushes :?

redddraggon

Graeme_S wrote:

Can't remember if it was yesterday or the day before, but in the ITV4 highlights show, on one of the climbs you clearly saw a rider by himself handed a can of coke from a spectator. The rider opened it, took a mouthful and then slung it into the bushes :?

Wasn't it Lang? Are you sure it was a spectator? Riders aren't supposed to take food/drink from anyone but their teams and official neutral support.

Stewie Griffin

redddraggon wrote:

Graeme_S wrote:

Can't remember if it was yesterday or the day before, but in the ITV4 highlights show, on one of the climbs you clearly saw a rider by himself handed a can of coke from a spectator. The rider opened it, took a mouthful and then slung it into the bushes :?

Wasn't it Lang? Are you sure it was a spectator? Riders aren't supposed to take food/drink from anyone but their teams and official neutral support.

I saw this too, the spectator wasnt in any team colours and I wondered whether or not he should be taking anything from strangers. It must have been a warm can of coke as he only took one slug then slung it into the bushes with some vigour.

graeme_s-2

redddraggon wrote:

Wasn't it Lang? Are you sure it was a spectator? Riders aren't supposed to take food/drink from anyone but their teams and official neutral support.

Only my second year watching the Tour, and I don't follow procycling the rest of the year with any dedication, so I can only name a handful of riders, sorry!

It really, really looked like a spectator at the time. He had to open the can himself, so it couldn't have been flat, which made me think drinking it would have been a bad idea. As a cyclist I'd also be worried about being handed something that was spiked with a banned substance. Would be a good way to eliminate one of your favourite rider's rivals.

SunWuKong

Maybe it was a can of Rola Cola?

SteK

Graeme_S wrote:

He had to open the can himself, so it couldn't have been flat

You clearly don't shop in Aldi

Graeme_S wrote:

As a cyclist I'd also be worried about being handed something that was spiked with a banned substance. Would be a good way to eliminate one of your favourite rider's rivals.

I couldn't agree more. I read a tour supplement about people sabotaging Tour rivals in years gone by... no reason to think it wouldn't happen now. Even more so after reading in the news a few years ago about some idiot passing a London marathon runner a pint of vodka - thinking it was an amusing stunt.

Vince, the friend of mine that rode semi-pro or whatever back in France in the 80s reckons the intense caffine rush from the flat coke and additional caffine - after 6 weeks without - had an impact on your vision! Dunno if it's true, I've never tried, but reckons he lost most of the colour from his vision for a few minutes!

Mental....

Bronzie

SteK wrote:

Ahh I see, I kinda thought they all picked up generic bags - are they team/rider specific??

Certainly team specific - it's unlikely in the melee of the feed zone that a soigneur is gonna be able to give a specific rider a specific musette

Stewie Griffin

SunWuKong wrote:

Maybe it was a can of Rola Cola?

You mean Rouleur Cola? If you did its an awful pun

andy_wrx

In 'Le Tour Baby', Scott Whatzisname grabs a musette dropped in the feedzone and run over by one of the team cars, dissects it for the camera.

Flapjacks, gels, fruit pies, cheese triangles, all mushed-together by the car, looks lovely...

robmanic1

Maybe the seactator was planted by his team to feed him performance enhancers disguised as coke, so if he gets pinched for it he can claim his drink was spiked and he has it on camera!

or

Maybe he's already on th go-juice and needs a cover story!

Eh, eh, think about it! You read it here first!

hammerite

I didn't identify the riders, but the other day two guys at the front of the peloton were opening up some foil wrappers of what looked like sandwiches/rolls.

They just started inspecting the sandwich and talking amongst themselves.

It looked like a scene at the school canteen when you realise that you mum had made you crappy fish paste sandwiches for lunch, and you look to see what delights your mates mums had made them.

natrix

In years gone by the riders would have flapjack, either 'with eyes' or without. The eyes were amphetamine tablets pressed into the flapjack!!

I've also heard tales of the jam sandwhiches being wrapped in pages out of ahem, 'gentlemens magazines' to bring a smile to the riders faces on a wet stage.

beverick

SteK wrote:

What's to be found in these accident cursed nose-bags?!?

Depending what you read you're told the 'average' tour rider consumes around 6000-8000 calories a day. I suppose that's easy done with 3 of Domino's finest
Ste

Why do I now get the image of a guy on a Honda 50 moped swerving amongst the peloton and between the motor bikes delivering pizza's.

"So Monsieur Evans. Un Quatre fromage ne sliced pas, et un bottle de diet Fanta. €9.99 - s'il vous plat"

Bob

SteK

barnesr wrote:

In years gone by the riders would have flapjack, either 'with eyes' or without. The eyes were amphetamine tablets pressed into the flapjack!!

Wow! That's insane. Choc Chip Flavour for those with calories to spare, Honey and Sultana for the healthy and Speed Flavour for the cyclists! Yummy....

I'm loving the image of the delivery rider! If it's not with you in an hour it's free.... dialling from the team cars half way up Alp D'Huez....

Mark Alexander

Nuggs wrote:

ellieb wrote:

I was surprised to see them knocking back small bottles of coke (especially as Boonen wasn't there ho ho) I would have thought that would be way too fizzy to drink before tackling a climb

IIRC top marathon runners swear by flat coke - you get all the caffiene and sugar kick but none of the gassiness.

Maybe the riders' cokes had been pre-flattened?

A mallet could help