- I've come to Spain to find out what happens
in a typical day in the life of a professional cyclist.
How much do they train?
What do they do when they train?
What do they eat?
When do they eat it?
Well, thanks to our friends at Mavic,
they've given us exclusive access
to the AG2R La Mondiale team, and we're going to find out.
Mavic has an enviable heritage in pro cycling.
You may remember Si getting access
into one of their service cars last year,
where he witnessed Chris Froome taking a spare wheel.
It was amazing!
I think this is going to be really good
and we're shadowing Classic specialist Oliver Naesen
because, of all the riders at AG2R,
he's the one with the best name.
He's also come second in Milan-San Remo
and is the former Belgian National Champion,
so he's quite good too.
(lullaby music)
(snoring)
(alarm beeping)
(screams)
- What are you doing in my room?
- I'm going to be following you around today.
- What, from right now?
I only got a T-shirt on.
(chill music)
- It's 7:00 a.m. and the rider's day usually starts
with a strength and conditioning session,
whether you do some light bodyweight exercises
or stretching, maybe some yoga moves and some core work,
to set them up for the day ahead.
However, today is a Saturday, which means I have a day off
from this strength and conditioning work.
But being a GCN presenter, never take a day off.
1001, 1002, 1003.
After the 7:00 a.m. strength wake-up call,
at 8:00am it's time for breakfast.
The riders do so in the buffet restaurant area of the hotel.
There's plenty of options available, including pastries
and cooked breakfasts with black pudding,
but the riders aren't typically going for that.
Oh no, they're going for healthier options.
So things like porridge and muesli
topped with yogurt, seeds, and dry fruit.
Omelets are a really popular choice
to get the protein in, too.
There's also coffee, as you might expect,
and plenty of fruit.
But the interesting thing for me is that the riders
are consuming lots of variety and lots of healthy food,
as you would probably expect,
but there's no real fad diets on show,
so there's plenty of gluten being consumed,
plenty of dairy being consumed, and lots of carbs as well,
which is essential for the big training they've got ahead.
Anyhow, I better crack on and eat this 'cause I've got
the rider briefing next, which is 9:30,
and I've got to be there ready in kit.
Just heading over to the rider briefing now.
This is where the riders get the instructions
on what the day's training is going to be
and they're split up into different groups.
So I'm going to find out who I'm going to be going with.
I'm going to be joining Oliver Naesen and the Classics group
from AG2R on their training ride today.
Apparently it's going to be like five hours long
and they're doing efforts.
I mean, pray for Ollie. (laughs)
Let's see how long I can survive
on a full-gas protein training ride. (laughs)
Place your bets now.
To help me try and fit in a bit better with the team,
Mavic kindly lent me this pair of wheels.
How awesome do these look on the Pinarello?
So these are Mavic's top-end wheel set,
the Cosmic Ultimates.
They're 40 millimeters deep and they're tubulars.
They've got carbon spokes on them and these amazing
carbon phalanges and carbon-wrapped on the hub.
And they're said to be incredibly stiff, and being tubular,
they're very light.
They're only about 1200 grams a pair.
I can't wait to ride these, they look amazing.
I'm going to do a free-up soundcheck as well, actually.
Ooh!
That does sound good.
So these are the wheels that the AG2R La Mondiale team ride
like 90% of the time when they're racing.
They do have the deeper Comète 60-mil wheel,
but they tend to use that on really flat stages.
Can't wait!
Question, how do you spot a British cyclist amongst
a load of European professional cyclists?
It's 18 degrees and I'm the only one in shorts!
(laughs)
Oh, man. They're all in tights.
Today's training ride is 160 kilometers
with over 4000 meters of climbing.
A big day.
It begins in Altea on the Spanish coast
and heads inland to the Coll de Rates,
a favorite training climb for the pros in this region.
It's around 20 minutes long.
Today the riders are doing some low cadence
strength efforts in zone three.
However, their training varies from day to day.
(energetic music)
These guys!
They're strong!
How come you, like, only film me when I'm on the back,
while I'm clearly on the front most of the time,
but you never film those bits!
You making me look rubbish.
Aw, savage.
The guys were riding up there
and their tempo pace at zone three,
and for me to keep up with them on the Coll de Rates
doing tempo, sitting in, was like me doing PB power,
going full gas.
I'm wrecked.
God, I hope the ride's over now.
Only like, three more hours to go.
(energetic music)
What is this climb?
Killing me!
It's like 20%.
I'm getting gapped.
So I'm going to go in the Mavic car now,
it's three and a half hours into the ride but I'm just
going to go back to the hotel in the car because,
I mean, like, Oliver and the other guys, they were just
saying I was riding too fast, so I'm just going to go,
you know, it makes it easier for them.
So, it's not 'cause I was getting dropped.
That's not the reason.
Anyway, back to the hotel.
In all seriousness, it was an amazing experience
to ride with these guys.
For a mortal like myself,
riding next to world-class athletes
gives you an incredible insight into how strong they are
in a way that you can't normally appreciate.
It really is inspiring.
(calm music)
Tell you what, I can't wait for lunch after that,
I'm absolutely starving.
You may be interested to find out what the guys
are having for lunch.
Well, there's a massive buffet selection again for lunch
here at the hotel and they're typically
going for a good source of protein,
so there's a variety of meats and fish on offer,
and then loads of carbs.
Rice is the most popular,
so, big, big pile of rice, because it's so important
to get the carbs in and refuel and get the glycogen stores
topped up after a training ride like that,
where they're typically burning 3500, 4000 calories.
Also, lots of veg, getting in the micronutrients,
so there's plenty of veg on offer there.
Then, there's the pudding zone of the buffet.
My favorite part of the buffet.
It contains a wide variety of patisseries and cakes,
but the riders are steering clear of that fun part
of the buffet, they've got their own separate pudding zone
which contains whey protein and dried fruit
and nuts and seeds and stuff.
Anyway, they're enjoying that.
And yogurts are popular as well, as another way
to get in a bit of protein and lots of fresh fruit.
Once lunch is over, it's time for downtime.
Which means, if you're a pro, you go and get a massage.
I've just got to kind of massage myself
'cause I'm not a pro.
While the riders are enjoying their downtime after their
hard training ride, the mechanics still have to work,
so they're busy sorting the bikes out for tomorrow,
fixing any problems or just cleaning them
and maintaining them and making sure that
they're absolutely mint for tomorrow.
When I finish a training ride, I have to clean my bike
myself, or just ride it dirty the next day.
Massages are great for loosening the muscles and helping
get rid of waste products, ask any pro and they will say
that, anecdotally, they just feel really good.
Oliver also uses the afternoon to see an osteopath to help
open his legs and back after a crash he had in December.
The riders will also stretch in the afternoon
and generally just focus on recovery.
Hey man, thanks for the ride today,
and thanks for dragging me around.
It might've been easy for you,
but it was bloomin' hard for me. (laughs)
- Yeah, that's what we do, right?
Whenever there's a non-pro there, we always try to kill him.
(laughing)
But I mean, like, how many hours,
is that a typical day for you, that sort of five, six hour?
- It's a pretty big day.
- Yeah?
- [Oliver] For me, yeah.
The six hours is the most I ever do.
I try to have between 20 and 30 hours in a week in winter.
Those are the nice weeks for me, yeah.
- And today, after the normal ride with everyone else,
you did some motorpacing.
- Yeah. - So, why?
What's the reason for doing motorpacing in your training?
- Just to put in a bit extra, you know.
Every day, the team rented some scooters out
and every day there's two guys who do a little bit extra
and today was my lucky day.
- And what does it help you with, doing the motorpacing?
- To get some speed in the legs, 'cause today
we did a lot of climbing, and also some force work,
almost only force work, which is like lower PM
high gear stuff, and I like to, afterwards,
spin the legs a little bit.
- Nice, so what other sort of training sessions
are you doing, and what sort of intervals
and things like that-- - Oh, there's so much.
There's so much, I think variation is key.
If you say, no answer can be right, I think.
If I would say force only, it's wrong.
If I would say spinning only, it's wrong, sprinting.
You just have to listen to your body
and try to put in as much different stuff.
- And you're a classic specialist.
- Sounds nice.
(laughing)
- Well, you are, but, you know, the results say so.
Is there anything that you do differently
from the other riders that's specific for the demands of--
- I think a good classics rider needs to be really endurant
and also very punchy, so something between
a sprinter and a stage racer.
So you have to put in the hours
and you also have to put in the intensity.
Some classic riders are a bit of a hybrid between
climbers and sprinters.
- And when you're doing a typical day, like, a training camp
like this, how many hours a night sleep are you
trying to get afterwards, 'cause it's a big day?
- A lot depends on the roommate.
I try to get like nine, 10 hours.
- But what do you and the guys do in your downtime?
- When the team's there, it's most of the time meetings,
osteo, kine, massage.
When I'm alone in a training camp like past two weeks,
it's actually pretty boring.
I open my laptop, put on GCN, and have a nap.
(laughing)
Good, well, you're watching the right channel
but even if it does help you get to sleep, well,
I guess that's good.
It's now 8:00 p.m. and it's dinner time.
The riders are behind me enjoying the buffet once more.
It's much the same kind of deal as what we had at lunch time
and the riders are just getting in fuel and making sure
they're recovered so they can train again tomorrow.
Thankfully, I don't have to do a really hard ride tomorrow.
I don't think I could.
One observation is that, culturally, being a French team,
they eat quite late, 8:00 p.m.
Whereas other teams from other countries, they sometimes
eat a bit earlier, around 6:00 p.m., but it's just
a different way of doing it.
Speaking of which, I am starving, so you're going to
have to excuse me, 'cause I'm going to have some food myself.
The main thing I want to get across here is that
the day of a pro is fun, but there is a serious amount
of dedication and commitment.
It's not a rock-and-roll lifestyle.
It's about getting in the hard training and then recovering
and getting an early night.
Well, that's it for the day.
The riders will now go and chill out,
and as Oliver says, most likely be getting
an early night, as sleep is so important for recovery.
And a massive thanks to Mavic and AG2R La Mondiale
for giving us the access today, 'cause it's been amazing
and also for Oliver Naeson for giving up his time
and for being such a nice chap!
Be sure to keep an eye out for him in the classics.
Now, if you enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs up,
share it with your friends, and if you'd like to watch Si
in the Mavic service car, well you can do, by clicking here.