Martijn Redegeld, at the heart of modern performance

Some images say it all without needing explanation. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot finishing a one-day race and almost immediately grabbing a bottle of cherry juice. Tom Pidcock doing exactly the same thing after Milan-San Remo. No pause. No transition. No “end.” Just continuity. And at that moment, it becomes clear: recovery is no longer a phase. It is an integral part of performance. It is precisely in this space, between what we see and what is actually happening, that Martijn Redegeld works.

By Jeff Tatard – Photos: © Amacx Sports Nutrition / Team Visma | Lease a Bike

Between science and the field: an uncomfortable… and essential position

When asked the question: scientist or performance operator? The answer is not clear-cut. It’s more interesting than that… Because in reality, he is both. And above all, he is where these two worlds meet.

His background speaks for itself: from the very highest level in cycling, with teams capable of winning the three Grand Tours, to an environment like AFC Ajax, and his role as Head of Nutrition at Amacx Sports Nutrition. But what really stands out is not the CV. It’s the vision this journey has produced. Nutrition is not a theory. It is a decision-making lever.

Elite performance leaves no room for approximation

What seemingly innocuous gestures reveal today – grabbing a cherry juice, following up with a recovery shake – goes far beyond simple product logic. It’s not a fad. It’s not even a trend. It’s the visible sign of an invisible system, much more structured, much more demanding. Because at the highest level, nothing starts after the finish line. “Recovery doesn’t start after the effort… it’s already underway before it even ends.”

In the first few minutes after arrival, there’s no hesitation. No gray area. The body immediately shifts into something else. Energy mechanisms reorganize, tissues enter a repair phase, hormonal signals change register. This moment, once called “recovery,” is actually a perfectly orchestrated biological continuity.

And this orchestration is far from improvised. It is thought out, anticipated, prepared in advance, sometimes hours, sometimes days before. The intake, timings, nutritional forms – everything is already defined. The observed gesture – drinking, eating, absorbing – is merely the execution of a pre-written scenario. “At this level, there’s no reaction. There’s only anticipation.”

This is where the real paradigm shift lies. We no longer correct after the fact. We no longer compensate. We extend. We accompany what performance has already triggered. But to reduce this to a perfectly oiled machine would be a mistake. Because behind this apparent precision, there is a much finer, almost paradoxical reality. Yes, there are frameworks. Yes, protocols. Yes, solid scientific foundations that structure the whole. But within this structure, nothing is fixed.

Each athlete is a different terrain. Each organism has its own responses, its own limits, its own adaptations. “Two athletes can follow the same protocol… and never produce the same response.” It is here that performance ceases to be an exact science and becomes an applied art. The challenge is no longer just knowing what to do, but understanding for whom, when, in what context. Because ultimately, complexity does not come from the number of variables. It comes from their interaction. And in that space, between scientific rigor and human singularity, lies the essence of modern performance.

The real gap: between what science says… and what athletes do

One might think that, at this level, everything is perfectly aligned between research and practice. That what is demonstrated in the laboratory is found, almost mechanically, in the field. This is not the case. There is still a discreet but decisive area of friction, a space where knowledge does not always translate into action, where what is known does not systematically become what is done. “The biggest gap today is not between teams. It’s between science… and its actual application.”

Some strategies, despite being solidly scientifically validated, remain surprisingly underutilized. Not because they don’t work, but because they are misunderstood, poorly integrated, or simply lost in the complexity of daily life. Conversely, other approaches take on a disproportionate role. They spread quickly, are easily appealing, promise a lot, but behind this visibility, the benefits often remain marginal, or even secondary.

This discrepancy does not come from a lack of information. It comes almost from the opposite. We operate in a saturated environment, where social networks, trends, “superfoods,” and recommendations of all kinds pile up without clear hierarchy. Everything is accessible, everything seems important, everything grabs attention. “Today, the problem is no longer having access to information. It’s knowing what to do with it.”

And in this constant density, the risk becomes obvious. To get scattered, to dwell on appealing but low-impact details, to multiply peripheral optimizations… and, almost silently, to miss the essential. Because ultimately, performance is not about accumulation. It’s about prioritization. Knowing what truly matters, and having the clarity, then the discipline, to stick to it.

The silent shift: carbohydrates

If there’s one area where the paradigm has truly shifted in recent years, it’s carbohydrates. Long approached with caution, almost with suspicion, they are now at the heart of performance strategies. What was once a measured intake has become a fully embraced lever, sometimes even pushed to levels that would have been considered excessive not long ago.

This change is not due to a fad, but to a deep evolution in understanding. We are no longer simply talking about “eating to sustain,” but about constantly optimizing energy availability. Some athletes now train with high amounts of carbohydrates, both in races and in training, with a clear logic: fueling the effort to push the limits of performance. “Today, the question is no longer whether we consume too many carbohydrates… but whether we consume enough to support the demanded intensity.”

But this approach is not improvised. It relies on another, more discreet, but equally decisive learning: the body’s ability to tolerate these intakes. Because consuming more is not enough. One must also be able to absorb, use, and transform without disrupting the overall balance. This is where a notion still too often underestimated comes into play: digestive adaptation. “The gut is part of performance. And like the rest, it trains.”

This idea changes everything. It transforms nutrition into a training ground in its own right, where one prepares not only the muscles or the cardiovascular system, but also the ability to sustain ambitious energy strategies. Behind every carbohydrate intake, there is a repetition, an adaptation, a progression. And in this logic, nothing is left to chance. Volumes, timings, formats are tested, adjusted, gradually integrated. What is at stake here goes beyond simple nutrition. It is an invisible preparation, but essential, which conditions the ability to perform over time. Because ultimately, modern performance no longer relies solely on what one is capable of producing. It depends more and more on what one is capable of sustaining.

“Gut training”: the still underestimated factor

This is undoubtedly one of the most discreet points… and yet one of the most decisive. The idea that the digestive system can be trained like a muscle profoundly changes the way nutrition is approached. It shifts the perspective. We no longer talk only about what we provide to the body, but about what the body is actually capable of doing with it. Because ultimately, the question is not simply one of ingestion. It is one of absorption, assimilation, and utilization. “It’s not what you consume that matters… it’s what your body is capable of absorbing and using.” And in this often invisible discrepancy, an essential part of performance is played out.

For a long time, this aspect was underestimated, almost relegated to the background. We learned to structure training, to calibrate intensities, to optimize workloads. But digestive capacity remained in the shadows, as if it should follow naturally. However, this is not the case. It is built, it adapts, it develops. “The gut is not just a passage. It’s an organ that trains.”

And that’s precisely where there’s still a lot to do. Because this lever is still largely underutilized, even at the highest level, and even more so among amateurs. Many miss out, not for lack of will, but for lack of understanding. They adjust products, quantities, protocols, without ever working on the very capacity to tolerate them. As a result, they plateau. Not because of a lack of available energy, but because their system is not ready to receive it. In a modern approach to performance, this becomes a tipping point. A seemingly minor detail, but one that, once mastered, changes everything.

Nutrition becomes a system, not an addition

What is clear today is that nutrition no longer operates in silos. We can no longer dissociate training, recovery, and race strategy as independent blocks. Everything is linked, constantly. Nutrition has become an integrated system, a common thread that runs through all aspects of performance.

What is done in training influences recovery. What is put in place for recovery conditions the next session. And what is decided before a race directly impacts how it will be experienced. “We can no longer isolate nutrition. It is at the heart of everything that happens.” In this logic, every decision has cascading effects. We no longer seek to optimize separate elements, but to build global coherence. And within this whole, data plays an increasing role. Not to replace humans, but to refine. “Data doesn’t replace humans. It allows for better decisions.”

Creating a product: starting from the field, not the laboratory

When it comes to products, the logic is more subtle than it seems. It’s neither a purely scientific approach nor a marketing construct. It’s a balance, a permanent tension between what is observed in the field and what is validated by science. Everything begins with a real, concrete need, experienced by athletes. This need is then confronted with research, tested, adjusted, refined. Nothing is fixed. Nothing is decided too early. The product is built in this constant back-and-forth between use and validation, until it achieves a form of functional coherence. “A product truly exists only when it is used.”

This is where the real tipping point lies. Because ultimately, the ultimate criterion is not the laboratory. Nor is it the promise. It’s actual adoption. A product can be perfectly formulated, perfectly documented, perfectly positioned. If it’s not used, it remains theoretical. And in this demanding universe, there’s no room for the theoretical. There’s only what works, concretely, at the moment performance is at stake.

And for amateurs? Back to basics

When asked to simplify, the answer is almost disarming. It contrasts with the ambient complexity, with this tendency to want to optimize everything, to sophisticate everything. Here, on the contrary, everything returns to the essential. Improving recovery does not rely on an accumulation of details, but on a few simple, almost obvious principles: providing energy quickly after effort, maintaining overall nutritional consistency, and above all, being consistent, day after day. “What makes the difference is not what you do once… it’s what you repeat.”

Nothing revolutionary, apparently. And that’s precisely where the problem lies. Because what is simple is often neglected. What is fundamental becomes commonplace. And in this permanent quest for optimization, many amateurs seek to complicate, to add, to refine… even though the basics are not yet solid. They want to optimize without having stabilized. To refine without having structured. As a result, they progress, but without a real foundation. And in this discrepancy, they miss what really matters. Consistency, much more than sophistication.

The real risk: over-complicating… or underestimating

Two errors recur repeatedly, almost systematically. On one hand, getting lost in details, multiplying supplements, following trends, seeking the perfect solution in every new product. On the other hand, conversely, minimizing the importance of nutrition, relegating it to the background, as a simple accompaniment. These two approaches seem opposite. Yet they produce the same result. “In both cases, we miss the point.”

Because nutrition is neither a marginal optimization area nor a secondary variable. It is not a bonus that is added once everything else is in place. It is a direct component of performance. And that is precisely what makes it demanding. It requires both simplicity in the fundamentals and accuracy in the adjustments. Not an accumulation. Not a neglect. A clear understanding of what truly matters, and the discipline to stick to it.

What is being built (without always being visible)

Today, we are at a pivotal moment. Science is there, solid, structured. Practice is evolving, refining, getting closer to reality. And technology is accelerating everything, making visible what was not yet. But what is being built goes beyond these three dimensions. We are witnessing the emergence of a totally integrated approach to performance, where every decision is no longer isolated, but contextualized, individualized, optimized. Nothing is generic. Nothing is left to chance. Every choice is part of a global, coherent, almost systemic logic. “Performance is no longer fragmented. It is conceived as a whole.”

And in this movement, a boundary is disappearing. The one that separated, until now, performing and recovering. Gradually, this distinction loses its meaning. Because in this new paradigm, recovering is already part of performance.

Ultimately, the real question

In the end, one question remains. Seemingly simple, but fundamental. Is the role of an expert like Martijn Redegeld to help athletes perform, or is he there to help them sustain what performance truly demands? “Performing is one thing. Being able to repeat it, to endure, to last… that’s another.” The answer may not need to be decided. It is already contained in everything we have just covered.

Because modern performance is no longer an isolated moment. It is no longer a peak that one reaches before descending. It is a system, a sequence, a controlled continuity. What matters is not only what one is capable of producing, but what one is capable of sustaining over time. And in this system, an obvious truth gradually emerges, almost silently: recovering is already performing.

What makes this encounter valuable, beyond the words, is precisely this. To have access, for the duration of an exchange, to a vision that does not simplify performance, but makes it more accurate, more demanding, more concrete. At 3bikes, this kind of moment is not just an interview. It’s about understanding, connecting, translating. And sometimes, leaving with an idea that slightly shifts one’s perspective. Not everything. But enough to no longer see a finish line as an end, but rather as the beginning of something else.

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