During the three-week Tour de France, recovery plays a crucial role in daily performance, so teams are constantly looking for ways to stay fresh and recover faster between stages.
An increasingly popular recovery drink is tart cherry juice, made from Montmorency cherries. At the end of stages, when we see teams like Soudal Quick-Step and EF Education-EasyPost drinking the dark red liquid, it’s tart cherry juice.
Tart cherries are rich in antioxidant compounds called anthocyanins, which give them their deep red color. These compounds help reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in muscles after intense exercise.
A 2020 review of the scientific literature found that tart cherry supplements significantly reduced muscle soreness, inflammation, and strength loss after exercise. A 2017 review also found that tart cherry juice helped reduce muscle soreness and preserve muscle function in endurance athletes, including WorldTour cyclists.
Tart cherry juice not only provides anti-inflammatory benefits, but also provides a useful carbohydrate boost. A single 240ml serving typically contains 30-35g of carbs. Some teams mix a juice recovery drink with protein, electrolytes and additional carbs to support all aspects of recovery as quickly as possible after a stage. This timely recovery is vital when the next day’s race is just around the corner – any missed recovery opportunity can come back to haunt you later.
The Tour de France is not just a physical effort. Riders have to deal with interrupted routines, traveling between cities, changing hotels, and levels of mental stress. As a result, sleep quality often suffers. Cherry juice naturally contains melatonin and the amino acid tryptophan, both of which can promote deeper sleep. Studies have shown that consuming Montmorency cherry juice improves the duration and quality of sleep in adults.
Better sleep supports hormonal balance and the body's recovery processes, which are critical to staying in top shape day after day.
Teams like UAE Team Emirates, Visma-Lease a Bike, EF Education-EasyPost, and Soudal-QuickStep use cherry juice daily during major tours. Riders typically start "loading" a few days before a race—that is, drinking cherry juice twice a day (240–360 ml at a time), three to seven days before the race.
Once the race starts, a post-stage drink is consumed, and another serving in the evening to support sleep. Most teams prefer convenient forms, such as concentrated liquids or individual sachets, which keep well and are easy to carry.
Cherry juice is not a panacea and has some drawbacks. Some studies suggest that long-term use of potent antioxidants may inhibit adaptations that occur during exercise, particularly the development of mitochondrial efficiency.
During exercise, several beneficial changes occur due to oxidative stress, free radicals, and hydrogen ions, all of which contribute to muscle damage and inflammation. When these compounds are present in excess and persistently, they are harmful - so the use of antioxidants is justified. However, in the right amounts, combined with adequate rest, they are essential for development.
So cherry juice is most useful during competition, not for everyday training. Another practical concern is price. High-quality tart cherry products can be expensive, but at WorldTour level this is not a major factor and they are more affordable than ketones.
