Updated September 8, 2025 09:43AM
How Riders Chase 'Race Weight' – And Why Ferrand-Prévot Was an Anomaly
Training algorithms, ultrasound scans, and hormone checks have turned the chase for 'race weight' from a hunger game to a sophisticated science.
(Photo: Harry Talbot / Gruber Images)
Hitting “race weight” was one of the most harrowing parts of the performance puzzle for any Tour de France hopeful.
But what was once a hazardous process of misguided hunger has become a laser-guided protocol founded in algorithms and power meters and monitored with medical scans.
“How he hit a performance weight has changed a lot over the years,” Lidl-Trek nutritionist Stephanie Scheirlynck told Velo. “Many years ago, some riders would come back from off-season 10-15 kilos heavier. Reaching a peak weight was a big struggle. That isn’t the case any more.
“Riders now come back from winter maybe two, three, four kilos heavier,” she said. “Returning to an ‘optimal’ weight is then a close collaboration between the rider, coach, and nutritionist.”
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As Scheirlynck said, the era of Ullrich-esque binge and purge is far in the rear view.
Even the less dramatic transformations like those of Bradley Wiggins and Geraint Thomas have become rare.
You won’t see a rider shift from strapping trackie to Tour de France climber in the space of six months any time soon.
“For us, when we’re looking for a rider to hit a certain race weight, it’s typically such a small change in size it’s almost not noticeable. The deficit is small and over a very long period,” Scheirlynck said.
“When it’s done right, the rider doesn’t feel lacking, and can still do the workouts.”
The concept of “race weight” isn’t going totally extinct, but it’s getting that way. In the modern peloton, rider weight remains in a relatively tight range.
That’s why Pauline Ferrand-Prévot sparked so much controversy this summer.
The French ace sparked a sport-wide debate about rider health when she stripped a pile of pounds between Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
Ferrand-Prévot’s anomalous Tour de France cut
Søren Lavrsen oversees all things nutrition for both the men’s and women’s Visma-Lease a Bike teams.
He explained that Ferrand-Prévot’s Tour de France weight loss was the only stone left to be turned after she maxed out her muscular power in the spring.
Also read: Rethinking W/KG: How cycling is fighting its history of hunger
It was a strategic, short-term hack to the w/kg equation in preparation for the Alps.
“Any decision to lose weight – it might be as little as a few kilos – comes from a performance evaluation with riders, the coaches, and the nutritional department,” Lavresen told Velo. “It’s a decision taken very carefully. With the example of Pauline, we focused on raising the watts first.
“Training availability is a crucial factor in modern cycling. Riders can’t stay healthy and can’t recover from training if they’re too much below their natural weight for long,” Lavrsen said. “It just leads to lower training availability and reduced performance in the grand scheme.”
The slow, steady chase for ‘race weight’
Setting a target “race weight” is a multi-disciplinary process that begins in the off-season.
Sport directors, nutritionists, trainers, and riders all have something to say. As Velo explored recently, staff sometimes have to push back against riders who hunt perilous levels of leanness.
“Hard” and “soft” factors are all considered in the early goal-setting.
“If riders need to find a ‘performance weight,’ the number we target is based on weight and power numbers. But we also use more subjective factors. Things like the rider’s experience from the previous season, and our own experience with other riders,” Lavrsen said on a recent video call.
Teams plan for riders to reach their “performance weight” over several months. Ideally, they toe the tightrope of peak leanness for the smallest possible period.
“We define realistic goals and then take it very slowly,” Lidl-Trek’s Scheirlynck said.
“So we might start the whole process four or five months in advance. We get the athlete close and then keep a last little layer until the final week of the big race. This is for health and to support the training,” Scheirlynck said on a recent WhatsApp call.
“There’s a range of body fat percentage where you can feel good and strong, and be safe from sicknesses and bad weather. Going below that for too long is a risk.”
Another reason why “PFP gate” blew up at the nine-stage Femmes?
There are relatively few comparisons in the modern men’s peloton.
Scheirlynck suggested such a severe cut might not be profitable over the course of the three-week men’s Tour – a race that’s becoming as demanding as 21 one-day classics.
Calorie control at micro and macro level
Scheirlynck and Lavrsen emphasized that daily life on a Tour de France weight-cut isn’t what it used to be.
The focus is on full energy availability for training, and energy deficits are small. This is no short-term starvation.
And like most things in the modern WorldTour, the diet is driven by data.
Staffers use software like TrainingPeaks and Xert to program a rider’s provisional workout schedule. These platforms spit out expected energy demands for every session based on power targets, durations, and rider weight.
Nutritionists then lift those numbers to compute caloric allowances that are considered at a micro and macro level.
“We have rough figures for target energy deficit on a weekly and monthly basis, but the number fluctuates daily,” Lavrsen said. “So, on rest days, for example, we don’t aim for a deficit. Then on long endurance rides with high energy expenditure, it’s easier to have a big deficit.”
Many teams – including Visma-Lease a Bike – use apps that provide riders with daily nutrient goals per a nutritionist’s master plan.
The athlete then uses their cursed kitchen scales to portion their meals.
Scheirlynck at Lidl-Trek mentioned some riders ask for a softer approach to what they put on their plates.
“A palm-size portion of protein” and “a cup of rice” can help keep riders from the psychological perils of precision calorie counting.
Beyond the bathroom scale: Skinfolds, ultrasounds track progress
But when does a plan ever play out perfectly?
Once a target is set, “race weight” and planned deficits are a moving feast.
They’re evaluated and reevaluated on a near-daily basis.
“If we can sense the energy balance is wrong – say we suddenly see power drops or signs of sickness – we will react,” Lavrsen said. “We’re not only looking at weight for this. We’re also checking in on performance parameters from training and markers for well being.”
Many teams circulate daily questionnaires that assess rider mood, sleep, and general stoke. These provide quick insight into whether riders are digging into a hole.
Heart rate variability and resting heart rate data from wearables like WHOOP, Oura, and smartwatches also feature in the short-term feedback loop.
In the longer term, medical checks and body measures – typically from skinfold callipers – track whether riders are losing weight too fast or too slow.
James Moran at Uno-X Mobility revealed the concept of “race weight” is now so sophisticated that there’s scrutiny over whether riders are losing the right type of weight.
“We’re starting to use ultrasound to look at muscle and fat depth,” Moran told Velo. “Not all weight loss is equal. We’re not wanting somebody to lose a lot of lean muscle from the quads and calf, for example.”
Safeguarding with scientific and subjective measures
Sophisticated medical screens aren’t only used for measurement. They’re also central to safeguarding.
Long-term metabolic and skeletal malfunctions stalk any rider who’s in long-term energy deficiency.
Increasingly well-monied teams are now blowing budget into bi-annual DEXA scans. These tests for bone density ensure a rider’s career longevity and can help prevent later-life osteo complications.
Likewise, blood tests are used every second or third month to check for key hormonal markers. Riders spending long periods suffering at altitude might see more frequent assessments.
The TCA group doubled down on its quest for such health screenings to become mandatory in the wake of the Tour de France Femmes weight furore.
But Moran at Uno-X added that safeguarding isn’t all rocket science.
Simple medical trends also paint a picture of when a rider is in too deep of a deficit.
“We’re also looking at how they’re doing with the doctor in terms of other illnesses – respiratory illnesses, GI illnesses. People don’t always correlate those things with actually just being in energy deficiency,” he said.
Life after ‘race weight’
The concept of “race weight” is becoming extinct now that riders see similar numbers on their scales in January as they do in July.
However, teams do encourage athletes to periodize.
Just like riders strategically detrain in the winter, they pad out a little in the off-season too. Burgers, pizzas, and a few sneaky cervezas return to the menu.
Indeed, PFP was keen to point out in an Instagram post soon after the Femmes that she “was eating well” as part of a slow return to her more typical weight.
“I like riders to gain some weight out of the season. I think it’s good mentally and hormonally,” Scheirlynck said. “It can be dangerous to try and hold a rider as lean as possible for as long as possible.”
Riders might enjoy a “winter jacket” that’s as light as two or three kilos.
But that can be all it needs to ensure longevity and stoke the fire to do it all over again a few months later.
