Cross-posted from FoxNews via the Wall Street Journal
David Zabriskie
American cyclist DAVID ZABRISKIE plans to try something entirely new at the Tour de France, starting Saturday, riding the grueling event on a vegan diet.
Experts say he is the first cyclist to attempt the most difficult bike race in the world sans meat, dairy or eggs. He will cheat slightly, though, because he plans to eat small amounts of salmon two days per week to increase iron absorption.
Cyclists in the Tour de France can burn 8,000 calories a day — so many that some riders, already lean from their training, are unable to eat enough food to keep up with calorie loss.
The conventional wisdom is that eating plenty of meat and dairy provides protein to help cyclists’ muscles recover, and that the iron in red meat keeps the body producing ample amounts of hemoglobin, part of the all-important red blood cells that transport oxygen to the muscles
Before last season, Zabriskie, who rides for the US-based Garmin-Cervelo team, was a typical meat-eating athlete, scarfing down whatever he wanted so long as it did not make him fat. Keep reading >>
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Too bad they have an insert in the article with a link to “all the action” from the 2010 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. Make a Vegan dog, you dogs over at Nathan’s. Probably can’t.
