Sometimes it's the little things that make the big difference ... a truism. But one that seems to be true with regard to so-called marginal gains. This principle is based on the assumption that the smallest optimisations taken together result in a remarkably large improvement. Marginal gains are nothing new in cycling: back in 2010, when cycling coach and manager Dave Brailsford became head of the British professional cycling team Sky, he tweaked tiny screws in the design of the training programme, the saddle ergonomics, the tyre weight; even the riders' pillows were individually optimised and taken to every hotel to ensure that everyone slept well.
The approach worked: if the British cycling team performed so poorly in competitions in the years before Dave Brailsford that, it is said, no more cycling sponsors were found in Europe because they feared for their reputation, things took off from 2010 onwards. Under Brailsford's aegis, the British team won its first Tour de France victory just two years later with Bradley Wiggins. From 2015, nutrition specialist Dr James Morton was on board to take care of the marginal gains on the riders' plates: This was followed by four more Tour victories with Chris Froome - and several more successes.
Marginal Gains: Individualised eating
The concept of accumulated mini-improvements has now arrived across the board in professional cycling. Without seat position and material optimisation in the wind tunnel, nothing works anymore. In terms of everyday and competition nutrition, too, research, tinkering and knowledge are constantly being gathered. Knowledge that makes marginal gains in the nutrition of professional cyclists not only possible, but also extremely customisable.
The German professional team Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, for example, uses a special software programme to determine the energy and nutritional requirements of each individual athlete. It was co-developed by nutritionist Robert Gorgos, who worked for the team for seven years until the end of 2024. The programme calculates the required amount of energy and macronutrients, i.e. carbohydrates, proteins and fats, based on various factors such as the metabolic profile of the respective athlete, consisting of maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) and lactate formation rate (VLamax), the requirements of the upcoming effort (intervals, base, mountain stage ...) or the data uploaded to the system via the respective bike computer. On tours and multi-day races, a team chef prepares meal variations to cover the athletes' requirements. During training phases at home, the riders can choose from a recipe database stored in the software.
Absorb energy in portions
"The ingredients are weighed up precisely," explains Robert Gorgos. "Because the energy and carbohydrate consumption of a sprinter, for example, is higher than that of a tour specialist." Everything that the rider consumes during the day - before, during and after a stage or training session - is mapped and included in the nutritional calculation. On the road, the athletes regulate their energy intake with special carbohydrate mixtures, which they receive as a gel or drink containing 40 grams of carbohydrates per unit: The target is around two units per hour on easy stages and three on hard sections of the day.
What's more: "We have special drinks that are designed for summer and those for cold temperatures. They are more concentrated, as the athletes drink less in the cold, but still need to get the same amount of carbohydrates as in the heat," reports Robert Gorgos. "Depending on the race conditions, we specify how many units the riders should take on the road. That makes it relatively easy for them - and the nutrition issue has to be simple, otherwise it won't work."
Maintain weight and performance
However, there are no rigid grids. Especially after a race, the nutritionists react flexibly to the course of the stage: "We know the topography and can make rough assumptions. However, unlike in training, which can be controlled fairly precisely, we don't know in advance whether the rider might be in an escape group or whether another team will ride particularly hard," explains Gorgos. "As the riders have breakfast before the stage and the main aim of the catering during the race is to minimise the energy deficit, we map the actual energy and nutrient requirements resulting from the race effort with the meals afterwards." This can mean, for example, that riders who have used up a lot of energy are given two post-race snacks, often one savoury and one sweet.
The evening meal is then put together with the next day in mind. Depending on whether a difficult stage is coming up, a rather easy one or a rest day, the proportion of fibre or the composition of macronutrients varies, for example. Traditionally, the food served before difficult stages is as simple as possible, for example rice with omelette and fruit puree for breakfast or pureed soups, pasta and chicken for dinner. The nutrition experts also include the role of the athlete in the team in the calculations: "A helper sometimes consumes more energy than a team captain because he rides in the wind all day and has a higher average performance at the end of the day," says Robert Gorgos, summarising: "The goal and ultimately the marginal gain is for the rider to have the same body weight from stage one to stage 21, so that a climber, for example, does not weigh two kilos more over the course of the tour."
Marginal Gains: Improve regeneration and the immune system
Contrary to what one might expect given the physical strain, Robert Gorgos has never seen a rider lose weight during a tour in his seven years with the team. The reasons for this tendency to put on weight are simply overestimating the actual energy requirement, but also water retention in the body, which occurs if the athlete consumes too few carbohydrates. This is why Robert Gorgos and his team always aim to make up the energy difference in the form of carbohydrates. "All riders eat a very high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet," explains the nutritionist. Another marginal gain that can be achieved through nutrition is better regeneration, which should keep performance consistently high and the riders healthy. Robert Gorgos sees a small optimisation screw, for example, in the timing of energy intake after exercise. The sooner the rider gets something, the better. This is less about replenishing the carbohydrate stores as quickly as possible. Rather, the body should return to its initial energy level as quickly as possible and stabilise the immune system by providing energy and nutrients, for example in the form of a drink. First there is a concentrated fruit drink to provide secondary plant substances, which are said to have various positive effects, including strengthening the immune system, inhibiting inflammation and normalising blood sugar levels. This is followed by a combination of sugars and proteins to initiate regeneration.
Targeted use of supplements
For the defence system to work properly, the microbiome must also be in order. This is the bacterial colonisation of the intestine, which regulates the function of the immune system, among other things. It can be tested in the laboratory, for example by analysing stool. "The microbiome plays an important role in performance, regeneration, health and psyche. That's why we look at which bacterial strains are present in each rider and whether they should be there or not," says Robert Gorgos, but admits that although there is potential for a small benefit here, "we are still very much in the early stages." The situation is somewhat better with supplements. Although the scientific evidence is mixed, it does exist. For example, it is definitely beneficial to supplement athletes in altitude training with iron in individualised quantities in order to optimally benefit from the effects of altitude. This is because an iron deficiency would prevent more red blood cells from forming and the oxygen transport capacity from increasing - the aim of altitude training would therefore be missed.
There are also studies that suggest that the acid buffers sodium bicarbonate and beta-alanine buffer the H+ ions produced during intensive exercise for up to ten minutes, ensure muscular work even at very high loads and can delay a drop in performance. "This can be interesting, for example, so that the body can go a little deeper during training, resulting in more adaptation, or for sprinters," explains Robert Gorgos, who recommends the latter two substances to sprinters or classic specialists depending on their needs.
The nutrition expert is ambivalent about caffeine: The stimulant may well mean a marginal gain for so-called responders, i.e. athletes who react to caffeine. Some studies have found evidence that caffeine can improve muscular endurance and muscle strength and therefore performance, especially in the aerobic endurance range. Accordingly, caffeine is an issue in the team, if only because "most professional cyclists cannot exist without a coffee machine". However, the stimulant can also have an undesirable effect, warns Robert Gorgos: "Experience has shown that caffeine intake can also lead to the athlete unconsciously investing more and consuming more energy than necessary. That's why the team avoids caffeine on stages where it doesn't really count in order to conserve resources."
Marginal gains: benefits for amateur athletes
Even amateur athletes can improve their performance through their diet. However, these are often not just marginal gains: instead of going into the smallest detail and calculating food to the third decimal place, it is usually enough to think about where everyday and sports nutrition can be fundamentally improved. Robert Gorgos finds it particularly important to understand how much energy is consumed at what point in time and how much should be replenished. "If you don't keep an eye on your energy balance throughout the day, you run the risk of uncontrollably stuffing yourself with all kinds of food in the evening, when your job, family and training are done. This is not conducive to recovery, sleep, performance or body weight," he says. Better: determine your basic energy requirements with a nutritionist or via a nutrition platform or app, add the energy consumption recorded by the bike computer and consume this amount of energy evenly throughout the day. Not eating your main meal in the evening will help you fall asleep better and sleep more peacefully. Taking your training meals seriously and providing energy during training sessions lasting 90 minutes or more can also mean a marginal gain for amateur cyclists: "If you do this consistently, it can have a very positive effect on performance, willingness to train and adaptation to training," Robert Gorgos is convinced.
Don't forget to have fun
Even if a certain amount of attention to nutrition is necessary in order to improve performance, amateur cyclists do not need to (and cannot) be quite as meticulous as the nutritionists of the professional cycling teams in order to achieve small and large benefits. "You have to keep a certain amount of slack, especially as an amateur rider, if the sport is primarily intended to be a balance and fun," says Robert Gorgos and reveals: "Even the pros sometimes have cake or a glass of wine." Marginal gains for the feel-good account, if you like.
