Back in the day (90’s/early 2000s) taking in 60g carbohydrate per hour was considered adequate. Todays pros are taking in 100+ g/hour and also taking in ketones. This is such a significant increase in carbohydrate supply- and addresses an issue so important to high intensity/long races and recovery. Besides the gains in bikes/wheels, aero, training measurement, etc. - is this the biggest reason we’re seeing increased performance in today’s peleton?
It’s probably grandma’s yams and turtle soup.
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Deleted my post for spoilers.
I personally believe there is a much darker reason. Nuff said.
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Well think about it. In the EPO era, the PED’s/blood doping allowed a rider to put out more power. The fuel source (carbohydrate) for high intensity work and long duration work was still a limiter.
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No. The biggest performance leap is Inigo San Millan Z2. It’s obvious
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You mean Chris Carmichael’s “Foundation Miles?" ™ 
How history repeats.
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Being old makes me think it’s partly due to; pros are getting stronger, younger and able to recover faster.
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No on-bike nutrition in today’s TdF TT and some of today’s performances were unreal, I just hope they were real 
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Yeah, that’s why I deleted my comment above. The difference in the time between #1 and #3 today was…interesting.
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I thought that be it 
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I think today was some kind of weird moon phase/planet orientation. I also had a pretty killer day on the bike and I for sure am not doping… 
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It’s not nutrition … it’s the ubiquity of power meters. 10 years ago no junior would have been training with power, now they all can see how strong they are, get better and empirically prove it to the team directors …
But nutrition is a huge leap forward as well.
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No.
Scientifically, Asker Jeukendrup deserves the credit as the leader in investigating ways of enhancing CHO absorption/avoiding GI distress at higher rates of intake. However, there really isn’t much evidence that this is markedly superior to ingesting exogenous CHO at somewhat lower rates, and of course athletes have been doing their own thing and ingesting plenty of CHO during exercise all along. At best, you could say that the pro peleton has become sensitized to the issue, but it hardly qualifies as revolutionary.
(Note: I speak as someone whose career was originally launched by studying CHO supplementation during exercise, as well as somebody who has written two historical articles on exercise metabolism.)
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I see you Carmichael’s “foundation miles” and raise you Lydiard’s “best aerobic pace”.
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Less than 35 min effort is not going to deplete Glycogen 
And he probably downed a gel right before he took off.
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I agree w/ the kids having power measurement as a huge difference, but keep in mind - for the pros, they’ve had power meters since Greg Lemond. Increase in power output needs to be supported by an increase in fuel. Glycogen must be replaced or performance will drop, and today’s pro takes in 1000 calories more in a 5 hour race than did a 90’s pro. Far easier to keep the Glycogen tank full w/ this additional fuel coming in.
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Access to data/ideas…Sometime around the release of thee first iPhone (2007) it seems everything changed. More broadly, all things internet speed/number of users=proliferation of data and ideas.
Somewhat higher rates of ingesting CHO? Today’s rate is around 70% higher than the 90’s, and that doesn’t include ketones. Very important in stage racing, where riders are fighting Glycogen depletion over a 3 week period. Also important in training blocks.
Only if you believe that an extra 40g/hr of carbohydrates has greater performance gains than PEDs.
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I’ve seen this story before. The search for explanations for how the peloton is getting so fast by legitimate means. They were usually followed by scandals. Festina, Puerto, Lance, etc. Given the entire history of the sport, I have little reason to believe anything is different this time around. There are rumblings from the riders themselves that cycling has “changed.” And I hope the authorities do get to the bottom of it sometime soon, if only to satisfy my curiosity regarding what they’re up to this time.
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