Garmin-Cervelo rider David Zabriskie will achieve a Tour de France first in 2011, after revealing he intends to ride the 21 gruelling stages eating a vegan-only diet.
Zabriskie, 32, announced last October on his official website that he would be saying "goodbye [to] meat, dairy and anything that comes from an animal".
And on the eve of the 2011 Tour he has confirmed his intention to fuel his 2,200-mile push for Paris on a diet which would leave many riders struggling for energy.
"I think a lot of people see food in terms of whether it's going to make them fat or make them skinny," Zabriskie said. "I'm seeing food in terms of how it's going to make me think and will it give me clarity."
Cyclists require around 8,000 calories per day to get them through the Tour, and traditionally turn to calorie-rich animal products as a way of quickly absorbing the energy expended after a day in the saddle.
However, instead of meat, eggs and dairy products, Zabriskie will pioneer a vegan diet of pasta, fresh fruit, vegetables, washed down with an unappetising-sounding vegan energy shake containing hemp seeds, flax seeds, and brown rice protein.
He began drinking the shakes after suffering from low energy levels earlier this season, and now consumes at least four a day - something which, he says, has aided his all-round health, clearing up saddle rash, canker sores and even improving his vision.
And according to Jonathan Vaughters, Garmin-Cervelo's team director, Zabriskie's regime could point the way forward for other riders to modify their diets.
"This is definitely the ultimate test of the vegan diet," Vaughters said. "If it works here, no one can ever say you can't do X,Y,Z as a vegan."
That's the theory at least - though it's worth adding (albeit quietly) that Zabriskie is slightly 'cheating': consuming two small portions of fish per week to help him absorb iron.
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