“The Night Before” Bolognese Over Pasta

When it comes to fueling for a big Fondo or Charity Ride, we can take a lot of advice from the professional peloton. Just because you are not a pro, your body still needs great fuel to perform.  A pro rider can burn up to 8,000 calories on a tough stage of the Tour de France, which requires a lot of food to replenish. It’s three to four times what the average person will burn and consume in a day, and it can’t just be any old food. 

Pros need to fine-tune their diet to ensure they have enough energy to race without putting on any unwanted extra weight, and they need the correct balance of nutrients and vitamins to repair muscle damage and recover from fatigue.

That’s where the team chef comes in. Their job is to combine the right ingredients into something that will appeal to hungry (and possibly fussy) pro riders.

You need to be fussy too.  The night before a big training ride, and your big event, you not only need fuel, but good fuel.  Yes, pizza has carbs, but are they good carbs?  And how about the bad stuff that rides along with the pizza that will slow you down?  We are no different than a sports car-good fuel = good performance. 

This Bolognese recipe is one of many great ideas to have the night before any big ride that will make you a much happier rider the day of.  

Ingredients

• 500g minced beef or veal
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• ½ bunch thyme
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 100ml balsamic vinegar
• 70g tomato purée
• 3 tins chopped tomatoes
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 star anise
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper   

1. 1. Peel and chop the shallots and garlic. Rinse and drain the thyme and rosemary. Brown the meat in olive oil over high heat, season with salt and set aside.
   2. In a thick-bottomed saucepan, sauté the chopped shallots, garlic, thyme, rosemary and oregano in olive oil. Stir until the shallots are tender but have not browned. Add the honey. When the honey starts to bubble, add the vinegar and reduce by half.
   3. Stir in the tomato purée and bring to an even heat. Add the browned meat, tinned tomatoes, bay leaves and star anise. Quickly bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the thyme, rosemary and star anise, and season with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar. Serve with freshly cooked pasta and parmesan.

1. 1. Benefits

      Over the last 20 years, there has been consistent evidence for the beneficial impacts of carbohydrate loading on prolonged cardiovascular exercise. The bolognese sauce makes it easier to ingest huge helpings of pasta – wholemeal is best, as it’s a complex carbohydrate high in fibre. The fibre regulates digestion while the carbs are steadily converted into muscle glycogen overnight.

      The tomato-based sauce not only offers a host of vitamins but also supplies the phytochemical lycopene, which is instrumental in maintaining a strong immune system – important for anyone doing a lot of riding or training.

      Beef mince contains the necessary protein and fat for optimum muscle repair and function, and also provides iron, an essential mineral that helps red blood cells transport oxygen from the lungs to hard-working muscles.

      Enjoy, and Ride On!