I have a friend and cycling team mate considering the vegan option. He's a couple days in and people like to chime in about protein, health, nutrients, etc... I've been a vegetarian for 24 years and finally switched over to a vegan diet a little over 1 year ago. After switching to a vegan diet I felt an overall boost in energy and  stamina... This is purely anecdotal, but I just feel better. This "feeling better" sensation is something that is shared by the elite athletes below. I ran track in college and started cycling / racing about 4 years ago. After I switched to a vegan diet I was top 5 in some cat 3 CX races and finally won which allowed me to upgrade to Cat 2 and race in the Elites. I also seem to recover faster than my non-vegan friends and can pound. I could go on and on about the benefits. Which I will in other posts. Until then, be awed, by these vegan elite athletes!

Elite Vegan Athletes

Arian Foster

#1 running back in the NFL 2011/2012 - Two time All-Pro. While I'm not a NFL fan I'm very fond of Arian Foster. His tweets, his philosophy, etc... Plus he kicks ASS living life! http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7420614n http://arianfoster.org/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlTd3O1yHjE http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7420614n [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="290"] Arian Foster - Vegan NFL Stud... Namaste[/caption]  

Scott Jurek

- legendary ultra marathon runner. 3x ultra marathon runner of the year. 7-time Western States 100 champion! Author of Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SurbrF-HrZA  

Rich Roll

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="207"] Rich Roll Ultra Athlete[/caption] http://www.richroll.com/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJIXQCAHRck&feature=related  

Nick Diaz

MMA destroyer. Also an Xterra Triathlete (mountain biking, trail running and swimming) http://nickdiaz.net/ [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="210"] Nick Diaz MMA Crusher and Vegan[/caption]  

Fiona Oakes

- Elite Marathon runner with a 2hr 38minute pb. Holds many course records.  

Aaron Simpson

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="405"] Aaron Simpson - Vegan MMA Bad Ass[/caption] MMA bad ass

Mac Danzig

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="311"] Mac Danzig Vegan MMA Fighter[/caption] MMA bad ass http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Danzig

Carl Lewis

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="243"] Carl Lewis Elit Vegan Olympian[/caption] Vegetarian Olympian. He had his best year was when he turned vegan.

Tanya Kay

Professional Dancer. Appared in "Stomp"

Georges Baraque

- NHL 'informer'

brendan brazier

- elite professional triathlete

Tim VanOrden

- raw vegan "running raw"

Jack Lindquist

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] Jack Lindquist Vegan Track Cyclists[/caption] - cyclist california state champion shooting for 2016 Olympics http://www.readyforplanb.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/bw-calves-1024x756.jpg

Catherine Johnson

US Cyclocross racer

Jason Sager

Patrik Baboumian

strongman http://www.greatveganathletes.com/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_BdFj9UusU http://engine2diet.com/