article: American will be first cyclist to ride a vegan Tour

[JP]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 04496.html

[baldy]

Zabriskie has adopted the new diet for reasons of health, rather than animal welfare, so he takes a pragmatic approach to some of the demands of a true vegan lifestyle. In a move which might disappoint purists, he has decided to "cheat" by eating small portions of salmon twice a week during the Tour, to increase his ability to absorb iron.

Such a pity about that bit. I am disappointed does that make me a purist?
Also his meal plan looks really tough to get 8000 calories.

[bob_summers]

He obviously subscribes to the Peter Singer school of veganism

The same meal plan is shown in more detail in the wall street journal link on the other thread. It includes clif shot blocks which I thought contained gelatin though I could be wrong.

Not sure what to make of this. The way I read it, sounds like the salmon is pressure from his DS/team doctor?

[Seitanist]

Ridiculous about the fish! But whatever. At least the info is out there.

I yelled out 'vegan power' as I blew past someone in a MTB race last night

Here's the WSJ take: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... lenews_wsj

Also this is pretty awesome:

[baldy]

To be honest the more I read about this the worse I feel about.

his team's chiropractor gave him a blood test that screened his sensitivity to certain types of foods.

Why is his chiropractor taking blood in the first place? Sounds like he is on some dodgy "blood type" based diet.

[Big Good Wolf]

You had me worried about the gelatin in Shot Blocks for a minute there as I was eating them at Mountain Mayhem.
False alarm.
http://www.clifbar.com/food/did_you_know/C249

CLIF SHOT BLOKS contain no animal-based ingredients so it is vegan-friendly.

[bob_summers]

Sorry

I thought they weren't; seems like it was a ploy by a mate to avoid giving me some!

[Mr. Cleetus]

Why is his chiropractor taking blood in the first place? Sounds like he is on some dodgy "blood type" based diet.

You'd be surprised at what chiropractors and soigneurs do in the world of professional cycling. err, well, no, you probably wouldn't.

It seems pro cycling has a hard time moving beyond myth and lore, when it comes to the simple things like training, equipment, diet & nutrition.....

[The Lurker]

The other secret of his daily diet is a special brand of vegan energy shake, which contains hefty portions of hemp seeds, flax seeds, and protein from brown rice. He began drinking them after suffering from low energy levels earlier this season, and now consumes at least four a day.

Anyone know what this is?

[The Lurker]

never mind . . . it's Vega

[Fallen_Horse]

He is currently 188th out of 197 riders at the end of stage 4, so let's hope his veganism keeps him going while the others tire out later in the Tour!

[hardcore iv]

He is currently 188th out of 197 riders at the end of stage 4, so let's hope his veganism keeps him going while the others tire out later in the Tour!

I hope he decides to become an actual vegan before the end of the tour or maybe it's the fish eating that is making all the difference and keeping him from being 197th.

[tpertt]

He is currently 188th out of 197 riders at the end of stage 4, so let's hope his veganism keeps him going while the others tire out later in the Tour!

So what, he is help rider. (I dont know what is correct term in english). Yesterday and today he ride long time top of peloton and Tyler Farrar win yesterday & Thor Hushvod is still the yellow jersey. And on Sunday they win the team time trial.

[MikayP]

ya its too bad hes eating fish. im sure its just due to fear. i mean i cant seriously blame him. his job is on the line if he doesnt perform for those 3 weeks. i have a feeling if this tour goes fine he'll take the offseason to make sure his iron intake is ok from plants.

and i dont get when they say he's gotta eat so much, how can it be done on a vegan diet? i mean shouldnt all the riders be eating low processed foods anyways that are lower in calories? animal foods or not that should be a concern for all the riders im sure. if you eat all carbs i would think its a sliightly less of a concern

[bob_summers]

I suppose the guy is still a new vegan, not everyone makes the transition immediately. But then, not everyone has the ear of the world cycling press.
As said on the other thread, f@$king health vegans...