Acupuncture: Nibali’s Secret To Winning The Tour de France

Endurance athletes often turn to acupuncture as a drug-free way to boost performance because it works. Vincenzo Nibali, winner of the Tour de France, is no exception. 

Tour de France fans and anyone who’s an endurance athlete wants to know the secrets and training regimens used by top performers. Vincenzo Nibali, winner of this year’s Tour de France, took a cue from Chinese Medicine to help him optimize his endurance. He gets acupuncture nearly every day. Instead of going for illegal drugs and injections, Nibali takes an all-natural approach to performing at his best -- both during training and racing.

When a Belgian television station interviewed Nibaldi and inquired about the acupuncture treatments, Nibaldi said, “It’s those little extra details that can help us...Maybe now others will also use this technique.” Nibaldi isn’t the only top performing athlete to use acupuncture, but this summer Astana was the only team that employed its own acupuncturist for the Tour de France. Their private acupuncturist is a Belgian named Eddy de Smedt, who owns a private practice specializing in treating athletes outside Brussels. De Smedt worked last year for the Kazakh cycling outfit and last spring’s Giro d’Italia. The teams utilize De Smedt’s acupuncture services, as well as a team of medical doctors, osteopaths, and physical therapists.

During the Tour de France, De Smedt provided acupuncture for each of the Astana riders twice daily -- once on the bus before their performance and once at night back at the team’s

hotel. He reportedly uses only 6 - 10 acupuncture needles during each treatment, mostly in distal points in the riders’ feet, hands, arms, and legs, and one on the head for relaxation.

After placing the acupuncture needles, De Smedt stimulates the acupuncture points by twisting the needles in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Though many people are fearful of needles, and squeamish at the thought of getting acupuncture, once they see someone having it done it usually takes the fear away. The Astana cyclists were very open to trying acupuncture, and after seeing that it actually works and doesn’t hurt, they enjoyed the experience.

Considering the fact that so many Tour de France athletes tend to turn towards doping, there have been questions about whether Nibali is “all natural” or not. He’s been racking up the cycling victories since 2006. According to the director of Team Astana, Giuseppe Martinelli, Nibali repeatedly tests clean. The only needles he’s using are acupuncture needles.

According to De Smedt, acupuncture is a form of functional medicine rather than structural medicine. If there is a broken bone or torn muscle, acupuncture can provide palliative care, but it won’t “fix” the break or tear. On the other hand, it can enhance the function of the body, lower stress hormones, and balance the endocrine system.

If you’re an athlete seeking an edge on your performance, you should consider trying acupuncture in Del Mar, CA or acupuncture outside Encinitas.