Featured Story
Chef Peter fuels Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team in Giro d’Italia
26 May 2025
We’ve already given you some insight into the fueling strategies the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team uses during races with Amacx, but there’s also breakfast and dinner during a Grand Tour—and on rest days, even lunch. Plus, there are snacks every day. Our chef, Peter Neirinckx, gives you access to his personal kitchen truck, where he prepares food for our riders during the Giro d’Italia.
An average rider in a typical stage burns around 6,000 calories. In a major mountain stage, this can rise to 8,000, while on easier days—like a time trial or flat stage—it drops slightly, to roughly 5,000 to 5,500 calories. Our chefs, Peter and Eros, make sure the riders get these calories in the form of high-quality, tasty food options.
Peter, the Belgian chef at the Giro d’Italia, has been with the team since its launch in 2023. This is his fifth season working with teams led by Doug Ryder. A typical workday for Peter begins at 5:30 a.m. as he starts preparing breakfast.
“I make the bread fresh every night and just briefly use the oven in the morning to give it that nice crisp again. We have things like buckwheat pancakes, rice porridge or oats, and lots of fruit—usually red berries. And omelettes, freshly made to order. They want many more omelettes than I thought,” Peter laughs.
The nutritionists and riders use the HEXIS app to track everything they eat. Recipes designed by Peter are also uploaded to the app so riders can use them at home. The partnership between team nutritionists Adam and Mateusz and Peter works very well.
Chef Peter: “The nutritionists bring the science, and I bring the creativity. Luckily I have that freedom to be creative”
“The nutritionists bring the science, and I bring the creativity,” he smiles.
“After all these years doing this job, I know a thing or two as well, so yes, we really are a team—making sure the riders get exactly what they need. I get the freedom to be creative, because working with the same set of recipes every day wouldn’t suit me.”
After breakfast, Peter clears the table and cleans his kitchen truck. He prepares fresh food daily, but there’s also a stock of dry goods on the riders’ table—everything from rice crispies to maple syrup. Another VII—or ‘Very Important Item’—is the coffee machine. If the race continues to another hotel, he cleans and packs everything, prepares his truck for travel, shuts off the electricity and water supply, and drives to the next hotel.
Peter contacts the hotels in advance. He often speaks with the hotel chef and uses their suppliers to order fresh produce like fruit, vegetables, meat, and fish. It saves a lot of time on grocery shopping. He also ensures the riders have a dining area that’s as private as possible. There’s a WhatsApp group for all the team chefs where they share information, especially since they often stay in the same hotels during a Grand Tour.
“When I arrive at the new hotel, the first thing I do is park my truck and hook up the power and water. I also set up the dining area, collect my groceries from their kitchen, and start on the bread,” Peter says. “It needs to proof, so I have to start that as soon as possible.”
When it comes to dinner, Chef Peter likes his food colourful. Chief Nutritionist Adam Pluscinskí agrees.
“After two weeks of racing a Grand Tour, riders start to get tired of eating. Their daily routine is sleep, eat, ride, eat, sleep. It’s crucial to make the food look good and appetizing. Peter does that very well. It’s not an easy challenge because you have to maintain the correct macronutrient balance, avoid unnecessarily high fat content, and make the meals easy to digest.”
Peter understands this and uses his creativity—along with his passion and love for food—to present something amazing to the riders every morning and evening.
“Eating is not only done with the mouth, but also with the eyes—and a little bit with the heart. Food is emotion. I also believe in the power of colour in food. For many years, chefs would mainly prepare chicken, fish, rice, and pasta, with very few vegetables. Protein was the most important item on the menu—and it still is—but vegetables and fruit bring so much more,” he explains.
“Every fruit or vegetable has its own natural power. When food is fresh and colourful, you eat more—and eating becomes easier. That’s important in a Grand Tour, where eating is absolutely necessary. And with all the amazing produce in Italy, I have it easy,” he smiles.
Chef Peter: “Every fruit or vegetable has its own natural power. When food is fresh and colourful, you eat more—and eating becomes easier.”
Emīls Liepiņš: “Peter is a super nice guy and always smiling. The Giro d’Italia is such a hard race, and having someone smile at breakfast or greet you at dinner makes all the difference.”
After dinner comes dessert—tasty and sweet, with lots of fruit again. Peter also enjoys baking cakes: birthday cakes, milestone cakes, or just a cake to boost morale. Everyone likes cake. Just call Peter—he has many recipes.
Rider Emīls Liepiņš has only positive things to say about the team chef:
“Peter is a super nice guy and always smiling. The Giro d’Italia is such a hard race, and having someone smile at breakfast or greet you at dinner makes all the difference. I also feel his food is made with love—and you can taste it.” A happy ‘client’!
Working as a chef in a Grand Tour is hard work, just like it is for the riders and every member of our staff. After waking up at 5:30 a.m. to prepare breakfast, Peter closes his kitchen truck around 9 or 10 p.m.
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