Find out just how the best riders in the world get ready for one of the biggest sporting events on earth. – By James Stout

There’s a lot that divides Tour de France racers from the rest of us. They train harder, eat better and, most crucially, are born with a huge amount of talent. But once riders reach the top level of the sport, the little things do start to make a difference— which is why you’ll hear pros obsessing over “marginal gains” in aerodynamics, equipment weight and diet. While marginal gains are unlikely to help any of us make it to Paris next year, they can make up the seconds deciding who arrives to Paris in the yellow jersey. To find out just how the best riders in the world get ready for one of the biggest sporting events on earth, we asked some of the fastest guys we know what makes the difference during these three weeks in July.

Team Sky nutritionist Dr. James Morton told us the team makes use of strategic low-carb days, especially in the early months of the year. This doesn’t mean that Chris Froome is eating cauliflower “rice” all the time, but that “we prioritise different things on different days depending on the training the rider has that day.” To make it easy for riders to know if they need a high, low, or moderate carb day, Morton has devised a simple traffic light system. The team has worked with Science in Sport to develop protein gels (which Team Sky pro rider Ian Boswell tells us “taste like Gogurt”) to make sure riders don’t burn muscle on these low-carb rides. This strategy allows riders to maintain their low body fat percentages and hit their intervals fully fueled.

Bringing Their Own Sheets and Pillows

After eating, sleeping is the most important element of recovery. A rider’s sleep is far too important to be left to chance in the biggest race in the world, so teams try to control the sleep environment as much as possible. Team Sky brings mattresses and pillows as well as air conditioners for all the riders to each race hotel. Team staff will go to a hotel ahead of the race to inspect and clean the rooms so riders don’t run the risk of inhaling too much dust and or develop breathing problems on the next stage.

Putting on Some Ice

Regulating body temperature is key to performance, and France can get really hot in July. To combat this, teams will use ice vests which riders wear before time trial stages. Mostly, these just reduce perception of heat. To really cool off during long road stages, riders will take women’s tights stuffed with ice and shove them into the necks of their jerseys. This is one of the few things on this list that you can (and should) try on your next hot ride. You could also try the ice “slush” drinks that several teams use after hot stages. These might look like slushies from the corner store, but there’s a lot less syrup and a much higher electrolyte content. At home, you can try adding hydration powder to crushed ice and water for a similar drink.

Fasting for Speed

Many teams will send riders out on training rides before the tour without any breakfast or food in their pockets. “It isn’t much fun doing long rides without anything to eat, but it is supposed to improve fat metabolism,” Phil Gaimon, who rode for World Tour team Cannondale-Drapac, told us last year. This fat metabolism is what riders will draw on during the massive mountain stages in the tour when they could be on their bikes for over seven hours. “You can’t eat enough to replace all the energy you burn on those huge days,” Gaimon says, “so you have to be able to burn fat as fuel, even at high intensities.”

In-Home Altitude Training

We know many riders train at altitude to get the benefits it gives them in performance, but after a certain point this isn’t enough. Shaun Wallace of Altitude Control Technologies told us that, several years ago, he installed a system that would allow Kathusa-Alpecin rider Tony Martin to change the “altitude” of his entire house. This way he can live, sleep, and train at altitude all from the comfort of his own home.

Food Photos for Performance

While riders might occasionally (or often) Instagram their dinners, Team Sky uses an app which helps nutritionists keep track of each rider’s calorie and macronutrient intake. In order to do this without having to weigh all the riders’ food, the team asks riders to snap a photo and upload it to the app. Nutritionists on the team will compare the power files that riders submit to their diets to check that riders are eating to meet their daily needs.

Special Chains and Pulley Wheels

Team Dimension Data uses Ceramic Speed pulleys on its rear derailleurs. The oversized and brightly colored wheels might make a visual statement, but Ceramic Speed claims that because the chain moves in a straighter line than with conventional derailleur pulleys, they save 1-2 watts depending on the drive train being replaced. Similar savings, and visibility, come from the Ceramic Speed UFO chains that team Cannondale-Drapac will put on their team leader’s bikes. Each day a new chain is fitted and the white Teflon coating, which will be gone after 200 miles of riding, could save anything up to 5w. These tiny changes make a big difference when riders win or lose three week races by less than a minute.

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