Protein-rich foods are crucial for cyclists because protein aids recovery and muscle growth.
Endurance athletes have higher protein requirements than the general population, so cyclists should ensure they eat enough.
In this article, we explain why protein matters and how much you should eat before suggesting ways to boost your protein intake, if required.
What is protein and why do we need it?
Protein consists of amino acids, which help us grow and repair cells, bones, cartilage, skin and muscles.
For cyclists, protein’s role in muscle growth and recovery is especially important. Protein is also integral to our immune system.
While we can create some amino acids, there are nine we cannot, called essential amino acids. We have to consume these in food or supplements.
“All nine of the essential amino acids are needed to promote muscle protein synthesis, or the creation and stimulation of recovery and growth in muscle,” says Will Girling, the head nutritionist at EF Education-EasyPost WorldTour team.
How much protein do cyclists need?
The international Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8g per kilo of body weight (g/kg/bw) per day for all ages. The UK Government’s RDA is slightly lower: 0.75g/kg/bw a day.
However, many nutritionists advise athletes to eat at least twice as much. It’s also recommended that older people eat more protein to prevent age-related muscle wastage.
Ellen McDermott, a qualified performance nutritionist from McD Nutrition, says: “For athletes doing strenuous training or resistance training programmes, their protein requirement can go up to 2.5 or even 3 grams per kilo of body weight. Anything more than that is unnecessary.”
Girling agrees, adding: “Our total daily intake of protein is completely dependent on our goal, with heavy training loads, strength and power focus, and the aim of fat loss all requiring larger amounts.”
His recommended age-related intake for over 50s is also higher.
• Low training volume / casual rider: 1.6-1.8g/kg/bw a day
• High training volume / fat loss / >50 years: 2-2.5g/kg/bw a day
• Gaining muscle: 2.4-3.4g/kg/bw a day
For a 60/70/80kg rider, 2g/kg/bw of protein is 120/140/160g a day.
3g/kg/bw of protein works out as 180/210/240g a day.
What are the best protein sources for cyclists?
The best protein sources for cyclists will be low in fat and high in leucine. This key amino acid is found in higher concentrations in animal-based proteins.
“Aim for animal-based proteins that are less than five per cent fat,” says McDermott, who holds an Advanced Diploma from the Institute of Performance Nutrition.
“You generally need to reduce the amount of fat you’re eating to make way for high carbohydrate and protein requirements.”
McDermott says: “Without leucine, you won’t be able to grow and repair muscle.” This is especially true when incorporating strength training into your training plan.
Plant-based protein sources
She adds that some plant-based proteins, such as tofu and Quorn, contain leucine.
However, usually, vegetarian and vegan cyclists will have to put more time and effort into ensuring they hit their protein needs.
You can do so either by supplementing with whey or plant-based protein powders and recovery drinks. Or you can combine different plant proteins in a meal. Some amino acids are also available in tablet form.
“Very few vegetable sources contain a complete amino acid profile, meaning sometimes we need to combine foods together to make them complete,” says Girling, who also runs a sports nutrition company at willgirling.com.
For example, “rice and beans hits the spot for leucine,” says McDermott.
“The protein of pulses is high in certain amino acids and low in others, whereas grains are the opposite, being high in what pulses are low in,” adds Girling.
“This is really important to know if you’re a vegetarian or vegan.”
Because of the difficulty in sourcing essential amino acids from vegetarian and vegan sources, plant-based cyclists tend to eat meat and fish during Grand Tours.
What are high-protein foods?
Anything containing more than 10g of protein per 100g is considered a high-protein food.
However, eating a large amount of a food containing less protein, such as rice, can also contribute to your protein target.
- Lean meat (skinless chicken and turkey): 30g per 100g
- Fish (tuna): 29g per 100g
- Nuts: 20g per 100g
- Lentils and pulses (chickpeas): 19g per 100g
- Egg (boiled): about 13g per 100g / 7g per egg
- Pasta (uncooked): 12-13g per 100g
- High-protein yoghurt (Skyr): 11g per 100g
- Soya protein (tofu): 8g per 100g
- Grains (uncooked brown rice): 4g per 100g
When do we need protein?
After we’ve ticked off the total and type of protein, timing is the next thing to consider.
Unlike the other macronutrients (fat and carbohydrates), our body can’t store protein. Therefore, we need to eat regular amounts.
“We should aim to have protein every three to four hours, including after training, to stimulate muscle protein synthesis,” adds Girling.
“This probably means your three normal meals a day and one or two snacks.”
Boiled eggs, nuts, edamame beans, and low-fat dairy such as milk and yoghurt are all good high-protein snacks.
Spread out your protein intake
Generally, a serving of 20-30g is recommended because we can only absorb so much protein in a sitting. That equates to three eggs on toast, or a chicken breast or large portion of rice and beans.
But recent research suggests you can base protein portions per meal off body weight too.
Girling says: “The recommendation each meal is between 0.3-0.4g/kg/body weight, though you may end up having more frequent feed times to hit your total daily amount.
“The first protein intake after training should be 0.5g/kg/body weight.”
So a 60kg cyclist should aim for about 21g of protein at each meal and 30g in their recovery meal.
Carbs first, protein second
Another difference between carbohydrates and protein is our post-exercise refuelling window for protein is bigger.
“You definitely don’t need to be rushing to get any post-workout protein,” says Girling.
“Research shows that it’s the three to four-hour frequency and total daily amount that’s more important when looking at 24 hours, rather than that specific rush to get a protein shake.”
For example, if you had adequate protein in your pre-workout meal, following a hard 60-minute turbo session, you can wait until your next meal to eat protein.
McDermott, an elite cyclist herself, agrees that carbohydrates are a higher priority post-ride than protein. But she still recommends a large dose of protein in your recovery meal.
“For cyclists, I would aim for about 20-40 grams of protein either in that pre- or post-exercise window,” she says.
“Less if it's from an animal protein, more if it's from plant-based proteins because they're lower quality.”
Other benefits of protein
Besides helping recovery and muscle growth, protein is useful when you’re trying to improve body composition and lose weight through cycling.
This is because protein is believed to preserve lean muscle mass as you shed fat by creating a calorie deficit.
Protein can also keep you feeling full, which helps to manage your appetite when you’re cutting calories.
What’s more, eating protein and carbohydrates together can prevent a spike in blood glucose levels after a carb-dense meal.
Can you eat too much protein?
Can you overdo your protein intake?
“No, not really. Only if you have pre-existing health conditions, such as kidney issues,” says Girling.
He caveats this by assuming you’re consuming a healthy, balanced diet and not overeating ultra-processed foods, for example.
“If you eat nothing but meat, you’ll increase your risk of cardiac diseases and high cholesterol and so on,” he adds.
“But if you eat a minimum of five servings of fruit and vegetables a day, sufficient carbohydrates and healthy amounts of fat, then having up to three grams of protein per kilo body weight will show no adverse effect.”
