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“Food is more than just kind of macronutrients and energy — there's a lot of psychology around the foods that the riders enjoy and the atmosphere at mealtime. We try and get that balance right, so it's not too clinical, you know. So that they perceive that they're having a nice breakfast, that they feel safe and they enjoy that, but we actually also know how many grams of carbohydrates and calories they've hit.” — James Moran.
In a Grand Tour, food is more than fuel. It's comfort, satisfaction, celebration, and support. James Moran, Head Nutritionist at Uno-X Mobility, takes us beyond the day in, day out calorie-counting and deep into how psychology and physiology also dictate what's served to riders over 21 days of riding.
“Once the Drink Mix bidon is empty I start with a Gel every 45 minutes. I know it's a weird time, but I have it set on my head unit to just remind me every 45 minutes so that I take a Gel. And then I'll have two Solids pre-opened in my pocket and I'll just take bites out of them with eating the Gel. I just find it helps with textures. I tend to save the caffeine Gels for the last 2 or 3 hours.”