Rest is an essential element in the life of top athletes. Sleeping well is crucial. Joop Zoetemelk once famously said: "You win the Tour in your bed". Our riders sometimes spend a month in hotels. The beds are not always five-star. It's not always the case that the room has air conditioning or the curtains totally darken it. But thanks to M line, the athletes can sleep like they are at home. The mattress brand is part of the team during the grand tours, bringing mattresses and pillows to the WorldTour riders' hotels every day.

Team Visma | Lease a Bike and M line have been partners for nine years. Sports marketer Pierre van Bergen from M line knows exactly how the partnership started. "In 2015, the team wanted to optimise the athletes' sleep. They had an eye for the smallest details. When we wished them success in the Tour de France, Mathieu Heijboer, head of performance, and Gerard Rietjens, exercise physiologist at Team Visma | Lease a Bike, asked if we could help them with this issue. We took immediate action. We provide each rider with tailor-made sleep advice based on their physique and sleeping habits.”

The advice doesn't stop there. M line also provides the appropriate products for each individual, both privately and during important cycling races.

"Sleep is the most important recovery resource for people in general, but especially for cyclists who use their bodies so intensively”, Heijboer says. "The enormous effort during a race damages the body. Nutrition and sleep are essential to be able to perform at the same level the next day. We leave nothing to chance. For example, our food coaches in the food truck prepare all meals and snacks for the riders. M line's 'mattress men' ensure the hotel rooms are in perfect condition so the athletes can sleep well.”

"To perform optimally, a rider trains two to six hours a day, eats two to four hours a day and sleeps eight to 12 hours a day”, Rietjens adds. "Physical recovery is, therefore, the most important thing and deep sleep is essential. If it is disturbed, it is at the expense of recovery. It also slows down reaction time, causes memory problems and has a negative effect on motor coordination.”

M line supplies mattresses and pillows to hotels, but also duvets, bed linen, air conditioning and blackout curtains. The latter is not as easy as it sounds, as every hotel has different window sizes. Together with M line, Rietjens searched for the best solution. It was found in a mobile blackout system. "Each hotel will soon guarantee optimal sleeping conditions, and the riders will benefit from maximum sleeping comfort so they can start each stage well rested.”