The Weight of the Peloton | movie | 2022 | Official Trailer
Does the pro peloton have a problem with food? Are cyclists eating enough to be healthy? Former pro cyclist and GCN pres | dG1fbVhpYWJOSmd1dHM
Category
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 (dramatic music)
00:02 The pursuit of low weight has been the obsession
00:04 of professional riders for generations.
00:06 The idea that the lighter riders usually outperform
00:13 all others has been received wisdom in our sport.
00:15 Well, ever since I can remember.
00:18 - Before, maybe one, two decades ago,
00:20 it was you were a hero if you could do a race
00:22 without eating and without drinking.
00:24 (dramatic music)
00:27 (dramatic music)
00:30 - I know when I rode that the riders
00:34 would deliberately not eat very much.
00:36 Then they would take amphetamines to go for a five hour
00:38 or six hour ride and just burn off fat.
00:41 - There's mounting evidence that regularly skipping meals
00:43 to make weight is seriously dangerous.
00:46 Brittle bones and hormone system malfunctions
00:49 are headline physical risks.
00:52 - I'm often having this conversation sitting here
00:54 saying you're a 30 year old,
00:56 but actually your bones are looking like a really old person.
00:59 - Does the pro peloton have a problem with food?
01:02 Are riders eating enough to be healthy?
01:05 It's taking a huge mental and physical toll on riders
01:08 with some developing troubling relationships with food
01:11 that can last long after their career is over.
01:14 - When you step out into the real world
01:15 that you realize that your habits for eating aren't normal.
01:20 - I'm talking to past and present professionals
01:23 to see if the peloton's attitude to food
01:25 and weight is changing.
01:27 - I was possible in 2022 to do the same thing
01:31 of 10 or 15 years ago.
01:34 - And where does the responsibility lie?
01:37 Is enough being done or is the peloton
01:39 leaving casualties in its wake?
01:42 - My immune system took a massive hit in that first year
01:45 'cause I was super driven.
01:46 I was like kind of ignoring the signs
01:49 that I was feeling absolutely ruined.
01:51 (dramatic music)
01:54 (dramatic music)
01:56 (dramatic music)
01:59 (dramatic music)
02:02 (dramatic music)
02:06 (dramatic music)
02:08 (dramatic music)
02:11 [BLANK_AUDIO]