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In the 2017 Tour of Guangxi Road Cycling World Tour, BMC was named the best team and stole the spotlight: Daniel Oss won the King of the Mountains title, and several team members also won multiple stage awards.

Throughout the race, Codoon has been following Team BMC. A few days ago, we introduced the team's comprehensive supply work and the 'mysterious formula' of the riders' race drinks (for details, see Codoon Cycling's previous articles). We also mentioned that we would introduce the composition of the riders' race food. Codoon keeps its promises, so today, let's find out what foods the riders of the best team in the Tour of Guangxi carry with them during the race.

Before the start of the second stage, team member Manuel Senni 'secretly' stuffed something delicious into his cycling jersey pocket, but Codoon's camera captured it all. What is this tasty treat?

Team BMC provided its riders with energy supplement fast food from the American brand PowerBar. What Manuel Senni put in his pocket was a PowerBar energy bar. This blue energy bar is specifically the 'Natural Protein' variety, with a salted peanut flavor. This 40-gram energy bar contains 30%, or 12 grams, of protein. Although the packaging indicates that this energy bar should be consumed during the recovery phase after the race, Manuel Senni might be very fond of this flavor, so he still took it with him. It seems that professional riders sometimes prioritize taste when choosing their race energy foods.

Team BMC provided its riders with PowerBar energy bars in various flavors, allowing them to choose according to their taste preferences.

In addition to energy bars that supplement calories and protein during the race, the team also carried a large number of PowerGel energy gels (also from the PowerBar brand, shown in the top row of the picture below). Each 41-gram energy gel contains about 200-300 milligrams of sodium (depending on the flavor), 26-27 grams of carbohydrates and sugars, and 107-108 kilocalories of energy, helping the body better absorb water and replenish energy during the race. However, note that some flavors of PowerGel energy gels contain caffeine. Although caffeine is not on the International Anti-Doping Agency's banned list, riders need to determine whether they need the caffeinated flavors based on their actual needs.

Besides ready-made energy bars and gels, the team also provided delicious snack bento boxes for the riders, so they wouldn't have to eat only these 'battlefield fast foods' during the race. A varied diet structure allows riders to obtain more comprehensive nutrition and helps alleviate their psychological and physical fatigue during the race, enhancing their mood and motivation.

In the Tour of Guangxi, each professional team brought their own nutritionists, who also provided portable baked goods for the riders during the race. These snacks not only provided an energy source but also offered a treat for the hardworking riders. The picture below shows BMC team staff member Alice portioning out snacks made by the nutritionist.

I tried one, and it tasted very good, with a hint of mint flavor, providing a refreshing taste for the riders who were parched and sweating heavily. This helped them adjust their fatigued bodies to some extent halfway through the race.

The portioned rice balls were placed on the portable refrigerator of the support vehicle, ready to be distributed at the mid-race supply points to each rider.

Team staff member Anthony told me that since Chinese people love rice, and since they were in Guangxi, they decided to follow local customs. The nutritionist made many portable rice balls, which were distributed to the riders before and during the race. This allowed them to enjoy a 'Chinese meal' amidst the beautiful landscapes of Guangxi, while effectively replenishing carbohydrates.

At the mid-race food supply points, these portable foods and drinking water were packed into small satchels and distributed to each rider in the team.

The picture below shows BMC team staff member Anthony distributing food supply bags to the riders at a supply point, providing them with energy and hydration for the second half of the stage.