What's for breakfast

Have you ever had any burning questions you’d love to ask the top athletes? Ever wonder what’s in their water, how they train or what keeps them on the top of their game? We’ve all been there from time to time and to tell you the truth, there really are no secret ingredients to making your local super-starts shine brighter than others. It’s called devotion, passion and grit. Of course a structured training plan, decent nutrition, sleep, functional equipment and a number of other things all contribute to their success. But over time, what you’ll come to find out is that the love for the sport is what truly drives us.Each Field Fact post will pose a simple question to some of Utah’s best cyclists, to get a small glimpse of what contributes to their success. Today I ask the question: “What’s your ideal breakfast before each race?”All answers are direct quotes from each athleteKathy SherwinBefore Intermountain Cup races I eat a Plain Bagel and Egg Sandwich with some salt.  I try and get this down at least 2.5 - 3 hours before the race.  If I am still hungry that morning I will continue to eat plain bagels with jam on them so long as it fits into that 2.5 - 3 hour time frame.Bagels have a lot of bang for the buck in that you are getting a lot of calories and carbs in just one!  I also start sipping on a sports drink from the moment I get up.Jason SagerBread. We’re talking fancy bread here...something with nuts and grains in it, maybe flaxseed, even spelt flour to justify the price. Fresh baked or maybe the type that you keep in the fridge/freezer. That’s a sign of quality.Now  - let's put it in the toaster to darken it. Don’t burn it, but it needs some color, just at touch, no burnt pieces though.Next up, if the pieces are big, I’ll make two. if the pieces are small, like they usually are with fancy bread, we're talking three pieces. Slather a bit of honey on it. Make a swirling design of some sort and make sure it’s on the edges but not too much in the middle. if I’m feeling skinny I’ll use butter, but if I’m feeling full, ironically I'll use peanut butter...crunchy, free range, organic, and i prefer Adam's when its just been opened so I can get an unusually high ratio of peanuts per slather of peanut butter. If time isn't a rush, I'll throw a handful of raisins on the toast, maybe a sliced banana...this is assuming we're using peanut butter here. if its simply toast and butter/honey, then that's all we're talking.Coffee, no milk, no cream, and I'm moving away from sugar. This needs to be about 4hrs+ out from race time, as I like to travel light.Bart GillespieBowl of oatmeal with almonds, sunflower seeds, and rains or figs sweetened with a touch of agave nectar. Maybe a little peanut butter on top!Jen HanksWhole grain cereal with fresh blueberries, almonds, and almond milk. Yum!Jake Pantone1 x Big bowl of old fashioned oatmeal w/ bananas, unsweetened soy milk, walnuts or pecans, chia seeds, and raisins.Blake ZumbrunnenOrganic oatmeal with flax seeds with sliced banana and maybe some figs, a couple of jumbo eggs (pan scrambled), whole grain toast with jam and generally half of an avocado with the eggs. Juice.Chris HolleyMy favorite pre race meal would have to be yogurt, fruit (apple, banana, strawberry, grapes) oats and crushed pretzels mixed up in a big bowl. Wash it down with Mt. Dew because that $#!t is extreme.K.C. HolleyI don't have an ideal pre-race breakfast. Although because we tend to be in transit at the optimal time for a pre-race meal, I will usually have a bagel and cheese and/or an apple w/ peanut butter. I also try to have a serving or two of carborocket. If it is cold out, I will warm it up like a tea. Delicious either way.Alex GrantDepends on what I have around but I'll always try to include some orange juice, a banana and coffee.  In addition to that you could find me eating any of the following: cereal, oatmeal, 5 grain hot cereal, pancakes, eggs, toast, french toast, bagelsNot much rhyme or reason, I just like to have it down with three hours to start.Brian TolbertI am pretty flexible on my race day breakfasts. I usually try to have some kind of cereal like cheerios or something and then some kind of protein like an egg or twoTom BenderI'm usually pretty simple and will eat anything. If I have time and pending hunger I usually will start with oatmeal, add some almonds, peanut butter, strawberries, bananas, blueberries, raisins, brown sugar and sometimes I'll throw in a marshmallow or 2.  Pretty good. If that's not enough I'll cook up an egg or 2.  That usually does the job nicely. But again I'll eat anything, had McDonald's once with good results, anything seems to work in a pinch, a lot of it seems to be mental!KDAY Racing3 to 4 eggs with a two-to-one egg white/yolk ratio. Slice of wheat toast, with a medium bowl of oatmeal. Possibly a banana as well.