MEAL OF THE MOMENT

Being a professional cyclist allows for the indulgence in one glorious feature... FOOD!

Food for fuel...Food for recovery…. Food for your mental well-being. From churning out the kilometers pre-season to rolling out the legs between races, our demands for food change. With my wife Sharni being incredibly gifted around an oven and also myself, not too shy with a packet of rigatoni and a pot of hot water, we have over the years developed many satisfying meals and snacks to keep the body lean, the mind mean and the energy tanks full.

I enjoy keeping up to date with the latest in athletic nutrition advances out of the States, back home in Australia and also from Europe. We use this knowledge along with our own 'field' studies (yep..eating!) to create delicious and effective meal plans that work - in the real world. The greatest pleasure is using the many different local products we come across traveling the world in the name of bike racing.

Following the Sydney Olympics last September, I had the need to shred 4 ½ kilo’s of lean muscle from my frame in order to be competitive again this season on the road. Taking the long-term approach has meant I now have a constant 70kg’s and actually look forward to the road going ‘up’. My energy levels have never suffered and I am always well satisfied. With a little thought and creativity you can maintain the body type you need and do it with out excessive motivation - save that for winning races.

Most of us have good understanding of what foods are healthy. I feel it is timing of meals around training/competing and also when to eat carbs over protein or the two combined that really counts to an athlete. Here we will endeavor to publish our finest and latest cuisines with explanations for its uses to a competing athlete. Maybe it is good for recovery with protein, loaded with carbs for a pre-race feast or just so damn good it will put a smile on your dial.

Take me to the meals!