Hi Chris,
In our line of work, we get to enjoy some fascinating conversations with impressive people.
I thought I'd try something new today and share in its entirety one such encounter that myself and author James Witts had before the Amstel Gold Race with Lotto Dstny team chef, Sean Fowler (aka "Sean the Chef"). 👨🍳
If you dig it, please reply to let me know and/or rate this email at the bottom. We'll do this again if it goes down well... |
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"They invited me to the Tour de France...I said no. I said no?!"
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Dave: So, Sean, how’d you end up a chef in the pro peloton?
Sean: I had a restaurant in Spain and a pro cyclist came in one day for lunch. He was a fellow American and I overheard him from the kitchen and we got talking about cycling.
Later that week he came for dinner. And then he came again for lunch and dinner. Then another lunch and dinner. Then the whole team came during a training camp. They'd call up saying they want to eat at this time or that. "Come on up, no problem!", I’d say. That was back in 2007.
In 2008 they invited me to the Tour de France. But July is family vacation time, I have three kids. So, I said no. I said no?! So later, I called them and said I can do 2009, for sure. Then the following year it was, "Can you do the Dauphiné?" Okay! Then the next year, "Can you do the Giro?". The following year it was, "Can you do them all?!" That's how it happened.
James: Do you still have your restaurant?
Sean: We had it almost 20 years but I sold it eventually as I was too busy out on the road.
James: How has the role of team chef changed over the years?
Sean: It's not that long ago that it was quite rare for a team to have their own chef, which meant that the riders weren't always guaranteed tasty food at all of the races. Sometimes they'd be staying at less-than-mediocre hotels, with less-than-mediocre restaurants. So, initially it was just an advantage for the riders to have consistently good food.
Then there was a shift. Maybe, five or so years ago. Although I was giving the riders what they needed, it became more important that I gave them the right amount of what they needed. There’s more science around it now. That's when the nutritionists came in and we started to work together to tailor the meals based on body size, energy expenditure and so on.
Particularly when it comes to carbohydrates and protein. The harder you work, the longer you're pedalling, the more carbohydrate you need. It's just like fuel in the gas tank. |
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"What, they eat just the carbs first?!"
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James: So, are the riders helping themselves to food, or are they being given 'performance plates' measured out for them? Sean: Some teams pre-weigh the meals and give them out to riders. We have really amazing nutritionists, so I just take a picture of my menus and send it to them and they calculate and quantify everything for each rider in an app called SenPro.
Then the rider just comes to the table, opens up the phone and says, “Okay, I need that much rice” - and there it is. They have scales that they bring along, or I have scales on hand too. Generally speaking, they weigh their carbohydrates first and they eat those.
James: What, they eat just the carbs first?!
Sean: Yes. Because, otherwise, what if you have your soup, and you have some really nice veggies, and then you weigh your carbohydrates but you can't get it in!
James: Our daughter used to eat like that when she was growing up. Everything was very segmented…
Sean: You eat the carbohydrate first. Then you have the protein. And then the soup and some salad. And then when you're done maybe have some dessert, if you get it in.
Of course, some of the veteran riders don’t eat that way because they’re experienced and know they're gonna make it, but it takes some practice. |
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"There's only a certain amount of people that are able to eat and digest that much food and still be okay..."
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Dave: What’s the biggest challenge when it comes to fueling riders through a Grand Tour?
Sean: By the second week of the Tour, it's just hard for the guys to eat enough. They’re burning as much as 7,000 calories a day. There's simply not enough hours in the day to easily replenish what you've expended in a stage. Plus, there’s mental stress as well as the physical, so there's inflammation and digestion is not at 100%. So most guys are in a deficit.
One of the most important things in pro cycling is recovery. There are lots of very taxing sports, but very few involve doing it day after day and week after week for three weeks at a time. And so it's about having the energy to do what they do, and then recovering to do it again, tomorrow. One day after another.
For me, one of the biggest marginal gains in this whole sport is keeping the riders cool, calm and collected even in the midst of high stress situations. Because if they start going crazy, then they may as well go home. They'll never make it. It's crazy what they do, really! Dave: [Former Lotto Dstny rider] Harry Sweeney told us that he thinks one of the reasons he’s suited to Grand Tours is that he can eat more than most riders. Others get into the third week and struggle, but he can get down 9,000 calories a day. Sean: Hang on, I'm just gonna turn off the soup... |
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Dave: That smells amazing by the way!
Sean: Where were we, ah yes, Harry’s amazing. I remember once at Tirreno–Adriatico he was pulling all day, every day for other riders. Then the guy that he's pulling for drops out of the race. So they chose another guy. So he's pulling again and boom, then that guy drops out of the race. We finished with three guys and he was one of them.
There's only a certain amount of people that are able to eat and digest that much food and still be okay. I've seen a lot of riders, they've been in these smaller races, with less pressure and then they get to the top level, Classics season or a Grand Tour, and nope, their body just doesn't take it, so they're out. |
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"The more you can decorate it, the better..."
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James: Does your menu get less elaborate as a Grand Tour progresses? By the third week do they just want “beige”?
Sean: It depends on the rider, but mostly no. The more you can decorate it, the better because they are so tired of eating. I think that’s possibly the biggest marginal gain of having the team chef, although it's not top of the priority list. The priority is safety and nutrition. But in reality, if you don't want to eat it and I can make you like it enough that you do, then I’ve won.
James: What about one day races, how does that differ to Grand Tours?
Sean: The biggest difference between a one day race and a stage race is that, for the former, we're focused on ensuring that they don't eat too much. Just enough that their glycogen stores are full when they roll out. Whereas, at a Grand Tour, it's a real challenge to ensure they eat enough!
Dave: How personalised are the menus and how many options will you put out?
Sean: Again, it depends on who’s in the team that race. Pascal Eenkhoorn is here for Amstel and he doesn't like fish. Tonight's salmon, so I’m making him chicken instead. Whatever they want, basically, but I think more in this team than any other team, the riders are very appreciative of everything that I do. All of them are very ‘please and thank you’. It’s a bunch of very polite young men and women.
Dave: It's a good group, isn't it? Across the organisation actually, it's a cultural thing.
Ok, how much do you tailor your menus to the specifics of a race?
Sean: I spend days at home making my menus. Here’s my notebook... |
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"Of course, pasta and rice reappear, but I find ways to mix it up."
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Take the Vuelta last year. I write the stage and how hard it is. This one was a hard one, a 25km individual time trial, so I wrote 'low residue', which means the meal before it needs to be carefully designed with the stage in mind. So, I look at each stage, and I try to figure out, you know, how the menu goes with that stage. James: So, you don't do the same menu for the same races, year after year? Sean: I pride myself on never repeating a menu at a Grand Tour. Of course, pasta and rice reappear, but I find ways to mix it up. Dave: How many meals are you making a day? Sean: I cater for the riders, the hotel takes care of the staff, so I usually make 7 people's food, 3 times a day. Plus snacks. Dave: What kind of snacks? Sean: I make their post race snacks. So when they get on the bus, they have a small meal ready for them there. This team doesn't really eat rice cakes anymore because the nutritionists want precision - literally - and also because the riders love the PF 30 Chews so much, so I don't do those anymore! Dave: Talk us through what the day before a one day race typically looks like for you? Sean: It's imperative that the riders get enough sleep, so their breakfast is kinda late on race day. But I usually get up early anyway to get ahead on lunch prep. This morning I had already gotten the two desserts done for the day, the soup going and I had breakfast ready for them by 8:30.
Then I have breakfast, and then I clean up breakfast. Next, I start on lunch, serve lunch, have my own lunch, then clear up lunch. I normally sit with the staff but today I sat with the riders and we had a great conversation about van der Poel, which was nice. I don't get that very often because normally I’m serving and cleaning up. After lunch is done, I start on dinner. It’s pretty much non-stop.
Dave: And then, in the evening after you've cleaned up dinner, is it on to menu prep for the next day, or is that already done?
Sean: No, you gotta go to bed now! When you're finished there you go to bed, you're like "Adiós everybody!"
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"...and that’s not fun. That's the worst part."
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James: I bet! So, do you bring all the food with you?
Sean: I came here from Roubaix and I had made a plan for Paris Roubaix until Liège–Bastogne–Liège. I call the hotels and I ask them for all the things I need. Like, a place to park, electricity, water. I need to be as close to the dining room as possible, because I'll be walking back and forth a lot. Today's spot is pretty good, but there are places where I'm, you know, another 200 metres away and that’s not fun. That's the worst part.
And then I ask them if they can order produce for me. Some hotels will, some won’t. At most stage races I try to use ingredients that they use in their menu so that we don't have to pay extra.
But sometimes I have to buy everything. In Roubaix last week, I had to buy everything. Before I left home, I bought everything I needed for 3 days of cooking. And then I drove about 200km from Roubaix to here and the hotel here had bought me everything I needed for this leg.
I've gone to the supermarket a couple times to get a few bits they didn't have, some garlic and turmeric, but not much. Then the next hotel after here couldn’t supply me, so I have most of it already.
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"It's a crazy life, I could probably write a book."
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Dave: So, you’re driving the trailer around race to race?
Sean: Yes, I have a truck license. I can only go 90 kph and it has a tachograph fitted to monitor my speed! It's a crazy life, I could probably write a book.
James: I think you should write a book.
Sean: Maybe I should, yeah. I have a lot of stories!
Dave: And, am I right in thinking your wife is a team chef as well?
Sean: She is yeah. She was with me at Garmin for many years. And then they reduced their budget, so I went to Groupama for two years. And then Mitchelton for three. And now I've been here at Lotto Dstny for three years. She's at Israel - Premier Tech these days.
Dave: How many days are you on the road a year?
Sean: For many years, it was always the same, it was about 120. Now I'm at about 150. I can't do more than that. I’d just go crazy.
This year I've done a lot of early spring races that I'd never done before. Back in the day, it was just at the bigger races that teams had the chef, and now they try to get us to all of them. So I did Etoile De Bessèges, all the early Spanish ones like Almeria, Ruta Ciclista Del Sol and Volta a Catalunya, then Paris-Nice.
The first two years with the team, I was by myself but this year Eros, who’s also a veteran of the peloton, joined the team.
Dave: What's next after Amstel Gold race?
Sean: After this it’ll be the first time in a while that I’ll give the truck up. It's not gonna be easy, it'll feel weird actually. It’ll go to Romanie, Hamburg, and then Dunkirk and I’ll pick it up from there and take off again.
James: How much say did you have in the design and fitting out of the truck?
Sean: It was already like this. Actually, the previous team chef was good friend of mine. It was weird taking over because I always associated the truck with him! |
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Dave: If you could change one thing about the setup, what would that be?
Sean: I would put a window and a small door on the back wall. So when you're cooking, you have a window without having to open up the back.
Dave: So people like us can't just walk up and collar you for an interview whilst you're making the soup…
Sean: Exactly!
James: Ever had kitchen truck envy?!
Sean: I've had that, for sure. But, you know, all the trucks have their pros and cons. This one? The negative is that it goes slow. When you're in a Grand Tour, you need to get to the next hotel and you need to start cooking, so that can be frustrating sometimes!
Dave: What one nutrition tip do you have for amateur riders trying to perform at their best?
Sean: Eat a well balanced diet and measure your carbs to your effort on a daily basis. Anybody in the normal world, that has a day job and is training as well needs all of the micronutrients, all of the fibre. Whole wheat, whole wheat, whole wheat and then maybe one day close to the race, do low fibre for one day. That's it. And after the race, eat everything you want.
Just be smart about it. Our bodies are an amazing tool that can do amazing things, if you treat it well. Don't think there’s some sort of magical wand that you can wave at your body and all of a sudden it's going to perform amazingly.
Follow a well balanced diet and then just tune in the carbs.
Dave: You mentioned eating whatever you want after races, do you cater for the riders post-race? Do they have specific naughty requests?!
Sean: At every team, it's always been tiramisu, which is kind of curious. But I like making tiramisu. I don't make it traditionally, I make it with cashew cream. They have another race coming up, I don't want to give them cream! Years back I actually won Denver’s tiramisu contest five years in a row.
Dave: Well, that'll be why they keep asking for tiramisu then…
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"They had ‘The Bomb’ at lunch and they're gonna have one tonight too...""
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James: What pans are you using by the way? Sean: I do have a preference and I actually brought mine from home. Scanpan. It's from Scandinavia. It's just well built. They're extremely expensive, but if a pan is cheap, it's generally not good. A good pan cleans up better and the heat is distributed evenly across the entire surface. Dave: What's your recommendation for our next edition of Mel's Kitchen, where our resident baker Mel incorporates PF&H products into tasty recipes? Sean: I make something called ‘The Bomb’ that could work. My mother would make it for me when I had the flu and I often give it to the riders. It's garlic, ginger, honey, eucalyptus oil, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and turmeric. I serve it as a hot drink and they then eat the garlic and ginger. Today they had ‘The Bomb’ at lunch and they're gonna have one tonight too. So maybe Mel could add a PF 30 Caffeine Gel to that for an extra kick?! James: One last, left-field question before we leave you to your dinner prep...are there any tinned foods you use, or think are ok for amateur riders to incorporate into meal plans given they don't have a chef like the pros? Sean: That's a great question. I've never really thought about that as most of what I cook is fresh. I'd have to think about that, leave that one with me.
Right, who wants a snack? I have some carrot cake left over from lunch.
Dave: I am pretty hungry after this conversation to be honest.
James: I think there's meant to be a bit there for everyone, Dave...
[About 15 minutes after we leave Sean, he drops me a WhatsApp...]
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Need some fuel and electrolytes that'll give you beanz for your next training block? |
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🇬🇧 Order by 3pm Mon-Fri for same day despatch (exc. Bank Holidays) |
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Massive thanks to Sean for being so gracious with his time. (All whilst cooking dinner for 7!).
It's no doubt partly down to the great work Sean and the team nutritionists do that Lotto Dstny's Maxim Van Gils powered to an impressive 3rd at La Flèche Wallonne only three days after we saw him racing Amstel Gold.
Then, just four days later, he narrowly missed the podium at Liège–Bastogne–Liège after a sprint with Mathieu van der Poel. 🤯👏
Until next time,
Dave |
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