In the middle of the journey #4

Today we would like to share what a typical day for the Tour de France riders looks like.
A typical day at the Tour starts with the alarm sounding around 8 AM, and sometimes even earlier, to go consume a hearty breakfast. Afterwards, a rider goes back to their room to prepare the large suitcase with everything they need inside for the entire month of travel. It is left in front of the bedroom door, so that the masseurs can take it directly to the next hotel that they will reach in the evening. A big change that has occurred this year due to Covid-19 is the fact that each rider must sleep in individual rooms, rather than having another teammate paired with them.
Once everything is prepared, the riders are off to the team bus to travel to the stage start where the journey can take from 20 to 60 minutes. There the riders have time to dress up in the competition clothes, put on the radios and test that they work. Obviously, the atmosphere on the bus is important because the tactics of the day are discussed with the sports directors.
Finally it's time to take action!

Once the stage is over, riders return to the bus to consume their recovery drinks, which are a mixture of proteins and sugars. On the bus on the way to the hotel, riders take a shower and eat a nice plate of pasta, rice or potatoes.
When they arrive at the hotel, riders find their suitcase brought by the masseurs. They leave their luggage in the new room and immediately go for a massage. After the massages, they then go to the osteopath who works on the areas of the body where pain is felt.
Finally, the riders will finish off the day with a shower and then to dinner with teammates and the staff. The courses are thoroughly abundant! 

THE REST DAY

Unlike my teammates, during my rest day yesterday I didn't go out on the bike, because I wanted to relax after 9 very tough stages. I woke up at 10 in the morning and had breakfast half an hour later. Then it was the turn of the for Covid test together with my teammates and the staff, returning for a light lunch at the hotel. In the afternoon I did some interviews: we try to leave this commitment with the media on the rest day, since during the running week it is very difficult to do them. Then massage, osteopath, dinner and sleep as usual, ready to face another demanding week of races.