Community
Print
Vegan cyclist, Adam Hansen, has credited a ‘healthy, plant-based diet’ as the ‘trick’ to helping him finish a record-breaking 20 Grand Tours in a row.
The professional road bicycle racer, who adopted an animal-free diet for his ‘general health’, has stated people are ‘often surprised to hear’ that he is a ‘fully vegan pro cyclist’.
Vegan protein
“I’ve been fully vegan for about two years now although I have always had a mainly plant-based diet. The idea that a pro cyclist can’t be vegan is nonsense,” Hansen wrote for the Telegraph.
“People ask: where do you get your protein from? But it’s easy to get that from beans and legumes and other sources. Yes, I take vegan protein powder after races but other riders take whey protein shakes too. If a meat diet is so full of amino acids, why do they need protein shakes too?”
Hansen also revealed what he eats on a ‘typical training day’, which includes foods such as oats, salad, beans, legumes, and avocado.
“Dinner might be some vegetables and rice noodles with tofu,” he added.
‘Vegan and healthy is key’
Hansen regularly speaks about a plant-based diet on social media. Earlier this year he replied to a Tweet criticizing plant-based athletes for supplementing B12, iron, calcium, and essential amino acids.
“First. [A] vegan diet doesn’t mean anything. [A] Healthy diet is the most important and Vegan + healthy is the key,” Hansen wrote.
“Oreo’s are Vegan but not healthy. If there is so much nutrition in meat with protein and Amino Acids, then why are all the non-vegans still supplementing them in their diets?”
