UNLESS A CERTAIN seven-time Tour de France champion decides to show up, Gunnison, Colorado’s Dave Wiens is the man to beat at this month’s Leadville 100. The 45-year-old former pro has won the 100-mile high-altitude mountain-bike race six times鈥攍ast year finishing second only to Lance Armstrong, whom he outsprinted in 2008. Here’s one of Wiens’s fall-back recipes for high-performance fueling during his 15-to-17-hour training weeks. But be forewarned: “I have trouble not drinking a New Belgium Trippel or Shiner Bock with a meal like this,” he says, “especially after a hard training ride.”
Blackened Salmon with Potatoes and Spinach Salad
TIME: 30 MINUTES
1. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Saute a chopped yellow onion, grated potatoes (skin and all), a handful of chopped red, yellow, and green bell pepper, and three to five cloves of crushed garlic. Saute until nicely browned, stirring occasionally. Remove and keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, make the salad. Combine baby spinach with chopped tomatoes, red onion, beets,
avocado, corn, carrots–whatever’s lying around. Toss with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Rub an eight-ounce salmon fillet with olive oil and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning, like Tony Chachere’s (tonychachere.com). Turn heat to high.
4. Add a drizzle of olive oil and sear the fish, skin side down, for two to three minutes, then flip and sear another four to five. The skin will come right off. Season with salt and pepper and flip once more. Don’t overcook.