And what foods to eat and when to optimise protein intake.

Protein is an essential macronutrient needed to facilitate muscle repair and recovery.

Despite this, lots of cyclists do not meet their daily protein requirements. 

Carbohydrates often take centre stage for cyclists. It’s carbs that fuel those long rides and give you energy to perform at your best.

But if you don’t get enough dietary protein, your performance on the bike and recovery will be negatively impacted. You may experience more muscle soreness and feel more fatigued as your body has not recovered and repaired muscle tissue from previous sessions.

This also increases your injury risk.

Getting enough protein supports your performance and ensures your body has all the necessary nutrients to repair and rebuild so you can recover properly and perform at your best.

What you will learn:

  • What protein is, and why you need this essential macronutrient  

  • How much protein you need daily, and the best types of protein

  • Protein timing and when to eat protein to maximise recovery and performance 

What is protein?

Protein is made up of a chain of amino acids, often described as the building blocks of protein.

Your body uses these amino acids to build and repair muscle tissue. They also play key roles in producing enzymes and hormones. Protein is also be used as a source of energy.

If you’re more active, consider eating more protein — or at least paying more attention to how much protein you eat daily — to ensure proper muscle recovery and tissue repair.

Do cyclists need protein?

Yes! Cyclists need protein.

When you cycle or work out, you stress the muscles, causing small damage to the muscle fibres.

Your body needs protein, specifically the amino acids, to repair this fibre damage.

When you give your body the right nutrients in the correct quantities, your body can recover faster, rebuild muscle, and better adapt to training.

How much protein do cyclists need a day?

Current protein recommendations from the American College of Sports Medicine are 1.2 to 2.0g/kg daily.

So if you’re 70kg, that’s between 84 and 140g of protein.

1.2g of protein is definitely on the lower end of more recent research and real-world application.

Protein supports recovery and helps your body adapt to the training load placed upon it at a muscular and metabolic level. 

If you’re doing a multi-day cycling event or riding multiple days in a row, consider a higher protein intake to improve muscle and tissue repair and recovery. This becomes more important the more often you ride, even more so when riding at a high intensity. 

Timing of protein consumption 

How much protein you eat daily is important — but so is the timing of protein consumption. 

Aim to eat 0.25 to 0.30g of protein/kg of body weight within 2 hours after exercise.

For a 70kg athlete, that’s between 17.5 to 21g of protein. 

After exercise, muscle protein synthesis is elevated. Post-exercise protein can speed up muscle repair and help your body adapt to the increased training demands.

If you’re short on time or can’t eat a proper meal immediately after a ride or workout, consider a recovery bar like BAR+, which contains 15g of protein and 45g of carbohydrates.

Protein aids muscle repair and recovery, and the carbohydrates restock your glycogen stores to give you energy. 

When carbohydrates and protein are taken together post-exercise, they release more insulin. This increases the uptake of glucose and amino acids into the muscle cells to facilitate glycogen replenishment and muscle protein synthesis. 

Evidence also suggests that ingesting an additional 0.30g of protein every 3-5 hours spread out over multiple meals can improve muscle adaptation to training. Consider eating 3-5 meals and additional snacks to meet your recommended protein intake.

A sample meal timing may look like this:

  • Breakfast

  • Snack

  • Lunch

  • Pre-workout snack

  • Post-workout snack

  • Evening meal

Protein during cycling 

When you’re cycling longer than 75 minutes, you should consume carbohydrates. 

If you’re taking part in a multi-day event or riding for several hours in one sitting, you may want to experiment by eating protein when riding.

When you’re riding for hours on end, you miss possible protein windows throughout the day. It’s much more difficult to hit your protein goals.

For a multi-day event, this ensures you’re getting enough protein during the day — and not just after riding — to improve recovery and support performance throughout the remainder of the event.

For casual riders, this is less important. But it is something to consider. Experiment with it and find what works best for you.

How much protein do you need after cycling?

After cycling, aim for a minimum of 0.25 to 0.30g of protein per kg of body weight. 

For a 70kg athlete, that’s anywhere from 17.5 to 21g of protein.

You can eat more protein after cycling, but the evidence on whether more protein than these requirements is more effective in achieving muscle and tissue repair and recovery.

Despite this, common protein recommendations can be as high as 40g per meal.

Protein before sleep

If you want to maximise your recovery, consider casein protein before sleep.

One study suggests post-exercise ingestion of at least 40g of casein protein 30 minutes before sleep might be effective to facilitate muscle recovery, especially after a resistance training session.

Casein contains a high content of leucine, a major amino acid essential for muscle recovery and repair.

Foods high in casein include dairy products, such as:

  • Milk

  • Cheese (including cottage cheese)

  • Yoghurt

  • Butter

  • Cream

Of course, supplements are also available — a more convenient way to get 40g of casein.

What is the best protein for cyclists?

Getting enough protein is one thing, but eating quality protein is another.

Research currently shows that animal-based and dairy proteins are superior to other types of protein. Whole milk, lean meat, and supplements including whey, casein, soy, and egg are seen to be more effective because they contain BCAAS.

There are three branched-chain amino acids (BCAAS):

  1. Leucine

  2. Isoleucine

  3. Valine 

The body does not produce these three amino acids and must obtain them from the diet.

BCAAS play a key role in initiating muscle protein synthesis (MPS) — the process of muscle and tissue repair. Leucine is especially important for activating MPS.

Animal and dairy products contain the most leucine (and other BCAAS), and foods like fruit, vegetables and other plant-based products contain much lower levels of leucine.

That doesn’t mean you should not eat fruits and vegetables, either.

But, if you want to maximise recovery and do not have dietary restrictions or preferences, you might want to experiment with foods higher in leucine and BCAAS to ensure you have all the essential amino acids to facilitate muscle and tissue repair post-exercise.

Tips for vegetarians and vegans

Those with dietary restrictions will likely struggle to get all the BCAAS.

Leucine, in particular, is one of the essential amino acids needed to facilitate muscle growth and repair.

However, most non-animal products contain very little of this amino acid.

If you’re a vegetarian or a vegan, consider eating more soybeans and soy products, like tofu and tempeh. Beans, chickpeas, and lentils are also good sources of leucine.

You can also take supplements like pea or soy protein to increase leucine intake. It will also help you achieve your daily protein requirements.

Key takeaways

  • Protein is an essential macronutrient needed for muscle repair and recovery

  • Aim for a minimum of 1.2 to 2g of protein per kilogram of body weight daily

  • Animal and dairy products contain more leucine, a key amino acid crucial for muscle protein synthesis

  • Spread your protein intake out evenly throughout the day to possibly improve recovery and muscle adaptation to training 

  • After a workout, eat approximately 20 to 30g of protein within 2 hours (or 0.30g/kg of body weight)

  • Consider casein protein 30 minutes before sleep to maximise recovery