Zabriskie to ride first vegan TdF

[Cudzoziemiec]

Not sure whether this belongs more in here or in Food... Anyway, David Zabriskie has become vegan and found it suits him, having been in top form since giving up meat and dairy. Apparently he will be the first vegan rider ever to race the Tour. Except that, as this article says, he still eats fish. So perhaps he's less vegan even than Robert Millar was when he rode in he '80s (Millar was vegetarian rather than vegan but at least was consistent in that).

[Domestique]

Errr, except eating fish would mean he isnt a vegan.
Strange report that one 

[GruB]

So it is not even pescetarianism as they also eat diary.

[clarion]

No vegan Tour riders previously?  Given the vogue for vegetarianism and veganism among athletes in the 30s, I would be a bit surprised (though, given the French addiction to eating dead flesh, and the preponderance of them in the peloton at the time, it is possible).

[Cudzoziemiec]

Would such things have been recorded in the '30s? I suppose there might well have been press reports, but you'd have to know where to look (and be bothered to do the research; as this journalist can't even be bothered to distinguish near from actual veganism, that might be hoping for a bit much). So we can say this much; Zabriskie might become the first rider in the Tour to eat fish, but no other meat and no eggs or dairy. It's a diet which doesn't fall neatly into any recognised category, but it's his.

[Jasmine]

this journalist can't even be bothered to distinguish near from actual veganism

It doesn't even sound like near veganism.  He doesn't eat meat and dairy.  What about eggs?  Honey? Leather products? Wool products?  Lanolin containing soap & moisturiser.   All not allowed in veganism.

All that article shows is that the journo doesn't understand what vegetarianism & veganism are.

[NikW]

this journalist can't even be bothered to distinguish near from actual veganism

It doesn't even sound like near veganism.  He doesn't eat meat and dairy.  What about eggs?  Honey? Leather products? Wool products?  Lanolin containing soap & moisturiser.   All not allowed in veganism.

All that article shows is that the journo doesn't understand what vegetarianism & veganism are.

(It does say he doesn't eat eggs.)

From a vegan point of view I think this is pretty sad - to claim you need a bit of magic fish in your diet for whatever reason as if there is no animal free alternative is contrary to what veganism is all about.

[Jakob]

From a vegan point of view I think this is pretty sad - to claim you need a bit of magic fish in your diet for whatever reason as if there is no animal free alternative is contrary to what veganism is all about.

Given the extremes of TdF, I'm not surprised. We aren't really designed to be vegans and that'll show when we start stressing the body.

[border-rider]

We're not designed to not be either.  We have a choice.  With a balanced diet, why should anything show under stress especially ?

[andygates]

Would blood doping be non-vegan?

[NikW]

From a vegan point of view I think this is pretty sad - to claim you need a bit of magic fish in your diet for whatever reason as if there is no animal free alternative is contrary to what veganism is all about.

Given the extremes of TdF, I'm not surprised. We aren't really designed to be vegans and that'll show when we start stressing the body.

Cor were you designed    I took the long route and evolved myself 

Scott Jurek, US 24hr running record holder (165.7miles) amongst many endurance running wins, manages fine on a vegan diet as do many athletes. I suspect the real reason vegans don't seem attracted to the cycling tours is the reputation they have for chemical assistance which doesn't seem to have hit endurance running so badly.

[RJ]

Would blood doping be non-vegan?

Only if it's not your own?

But, ah, Mr Gates - what a rich vein you open ...

Is {insert substance of choice} vegan

Discuss

[Jakob]

We're not designed to not be either.  We have a choice.  With a balanced diet, why should anything show under stress especially ?

No..we're omnivores and function best when we eat both.

[border-rider]

Any actual evidence that not eating fish is going to be an issue ?

In what way would I be functioning better than I am for a bit of plaice ?

[Jakob]

In what way would I be functioning better than I am for a bit of plaice ?

Well, start to look at the ratio of vegan/vegetarian top level athletes and I think you'll find your answer there.

You can start with these people taking part here:
CrossFit Games |
There wont be a single vegetarian amongst them.

[border-rider]

I wonder what that ratio is amongst, I dunno, professional darts players


association. causation. Not the same.

[andygates]

You're fighting a most wonderfully irrelevant war on this front, old chap.

There are a goodly number of vegetablists out in sporty land, and you just know that picking Crossfit, a gung-ho fitness fad (not a sport ) with a "MEAT and IRON BOOYAH!" motif designed in like the words in a stick of meat rock, is just gonna find low hits.  But there are veggie Ironmen, veggie bodybuilders, and veggies in every athletic field.  

[Cudzoziemiec]

It does say in that article that Zabriskie follows this diet purely to enhance his performance and is not interested in the moral or ethical issues. So I doubt if he's bothered about wool or lanolin. He probably has an opinion on honey, but I don't know what it is. The fish is for iron.

No, he's not really vegan, but he's not really vegetarian or meat-eating either. He's following a very personal diet for a specific purpose, which the press has labelled vegan because that's what it seems nearest to, despite differing from veganism on at least one fundamental point. I reckon it's pretty good that the article does mention those differences, seeing that veganism is very much a niche-within-a-minority from the point of view of a conventional Western omnivorous diet. I wonder whether Zabriskie will keep it up in the off season, or even after he retires? It seems unlikely given his stated reasons, but you never know.

[Jakob]

You're fighting a most wonderfully irrelevant war on this front, old chap.

There are a goodly number of vegetablists out in sporty land, and you just know that picking Crossfit, a gung-ho fitness fad (not a sport ) with a "MEAT and IRON BOOYAH!" motif designed in like the words in a stick of meat rock, is just gonna find low hits.  But there are veggie Ironmen, veggie bodybuilders, and veggies in every athletic field.  

Oh, I'm not saying that they don't exist. I'm saying that it's a lot more work in order to ensure that you get the adequate nutrition to perform at top level, something which is already a major issue for top athletes. Something that's wonderfully highlighted in the Zabriskie piece, that he has to supplement his diet with salmon...and that's from a guy who has a far better support network than most athletes will have.

And yes, I've drunk the Crossfit Kool-Aid, I admit that, but you have to admit that they represent *very* fit, strong, fast people.

[border-rider]

The fish is for iron.

Really ? I wouldn't have thought it was the most efficacious foodstuff in that respect

[border-rider]

I'm saying that it's a lot more work in order to ensure that you get the adequate nutrition to perform at top level,

Possibly, but maybe not as much as you're making out. Either way, that doesn't equate to a necessity to eat animals to perform.

[Jakob]

Either way, that doesn't equate to a necessity to eat animals to perform.

If it becomes impractical or near impractical, then I would say it does...

[border-rider]

It's only your opinion that it's impractical

[Panoramix]

The fish is for iron.

Really ? I wouldn't have thought it was the most efficacious foodstuff in that respect

Fish is full of iron. Actually i tend to eat a lot more fish back home and i can feel the difference in term of a sharper mind.

[border-rider]

Actually it's not compared to many other foods.  Go google

As for "I feel sharper".  Please. Let's have some physiology and less anecdata.

If you're routinely sufficiently iron-short to feel an effect then your diet would have to be pretty crap.  I suspect it's not and that what you describe is another example of association rather than causation