Kristen Arnold, RDN, LD, MS domestic-elite racer for Velo Classic p/b Stan’s NoTubes, and registered dietitian, gave us the inside scoop on the hydration strategies of some of the best crit racers in the world from the 2016 Tour of America’s Dairyland, one of the midwest’s premiere road racing events.
Late June in Wisconsin, features the Tour of Americas Dairyland Criterium Race with race temperatures in the High 90’s, high humidity, hot pavement, and a real feel of close to 110 degrees at the start line. In a race with conditions as brutal as these and racers going all out for the majority of the race, hydration is a major key to success at the TOAD. Racers from around the world come to compete in this legendary ten-day racing event.
Tour of America’s Dairyland (TOAD) is a legendary 10 day criterium race series surrounding Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Racers travel from all over the world to compete against the best criterium racers in an effort to take home the pink cow-print leader’s jersey. Criterium races, or "crits" for short, challenge racers to a timed race on a short course. Racers perform dozens of laps at blistering pace on the frequently technical and tight courses.
While crits vary slightly in length, all TOAD races were 60 minutes of racing on a range of courses. Each day the event travels to a different city or town, implementing a different set of city streets, including four to eight corners per lap. Courses ranged in difficulty level and could be flat or hilly, roads could be narrow or wide, bumpy or wet, and turns ranged from hair-raising, tight u-turns to wide-open and sweeping.