PARIS– German cyclist Nils Politt was feeling good at the start the Olympic road race on Saturdayseparating and giving the veteran of seven Tours de France the feeling that something magical could happen on the streets of Paris.
Suddenly, he began to feel something very different: his stomach growling.
In a video that quickly went viral on social media, Politt did what any tourist would do in a situation like this: he appeared on the the nearest cafe and used the bathroom. By the time he finished, a growing crowd had already arrived and the 30-year-old from Cologne was receiving lots of applause on the way back to his bike.
“I didn’t count how long it took me,” Politt explained after reaching the finish line. “It was very hot, we drank a lot of water, we ate a lot of (energy) gels and normally I don’t have any problems. But today I had a stomachache.”
Everything is more difficult on a bike, from eating and drinking to, yes, going to the bathroom. This was especially true on Saturday, when the men faced the longest race in Olympic history – 273 kilometers (170 miles) from the start at the Trocadero, through the French countryside, back to Paris for laps of Montmartre, to the finish at the Eiffel. Tower.
The women faced a similar, albeit slightly shorter, course for Sunday’s race.
So how exactly do riders survive more than six hours in the saddle? See how it works:
With so much food and drink coursing through their bodies, riders often feel the call of nature. How they achieve this depends on the situation – their position on the road, the speed of the peloton, how far they are from the finish.
In most cases, several riders stop en masse and break loose between trees or a ditch. That way, they can work together to catch up. If the speed of the race has increased and when the need to urinate arises, riders can – and do – swing over to the shoulder and take care of it without stopping.
Bowel movements are a bigger problem. It’s not uncommon to stop at a bar or cafe along the route, usually in small, remote towns where it goes unnoticed. It may take a few minutes, but passengers can usually reach it.
In Politt’s case, the decision came at a particularly bad time in the Olympic road race: he was near the end, where the final climbs of Montmartre passed through steep streets packed shoulder to shoulder with thousands of flag-waving fans.
Politt was forced to climb a barricade and cross it to use the facilities of a cafe. He lost several minutes, but it didn’t really matter in the end. He finished in 70th place, almost 20 minutes behind gold medalist Remco Evenepoel.
The right fuel is crucial for cyclists, and they work with nutritionists and sports physiologists to design menus rich in carbohydrates, such as pasta and rice. The key is to make sure it contains enough energy but is also easy to digest.
On race day, riders will load up on even more carbs, perhaps eating oatmeal and rice for breakfast, and drink coffee or a pre-workout that provides a hit of caffeine. But the trick is to keep consuming calories once the race starts.
In the Olympic road race, most riders burn between 6,000 and 8,000 calories.
Along the route, support staff will be on hand with musettes, lightweight bags with a long strap that cyclists can grab and sling over their shoulder. Inside there are a variety of options depending on the rider’s preference: sandwiches and paninis, energy bars and gels, and even small cans of soda in case they need another dose of sugar and caffeine.
In the early days of the Tour de France, riders often drank alcohol during the race. But sports science has come a long way. Favorite drink now? Water, mainly, but also mixtures that provide electrolytes, BCAAs and other nutrients.
Cyclists will consume at least a liter of fluid every hour and still sweat more than they consume.
Team members will be along the road to provide fresh bottles, and drivers will be able to surf back through the field to better enjoy the team cars behind the race. Often, riders assigned to help the team leader will take several and tuck them into their t-shirts, then hand them out to their teammates on the road.
Neutral support vehicles also run in the race. They are required to provide bottles to anyone, regardless of staff.
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