Nigel Mitchell is a nutritionist working with WorldTour team EF Pro Cycling and knows a thing or two about managing riders' weight and health.
He says he does not work off body fat, adding it's very easy for riders to push the weight loss area too far.
In this video from Global Cycling Network he takes 2009 Rás Tailteann winner Simon Richardson through his process for assessing his riders' bodies - checking muscle mass, fat and changes in the balance between the two.
He also has some of Richardson's data from 15 years ago when he was a top up and coming rider and compares that to his physical condition today.
Just to put that into context....
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When his 2005 body measurements were taken, Richardson was 21-years-old and won the British U23 road race title meaning he was in great shape.
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Today he's 36 years old and last rode as a pro in 2012. It's also now 11 years since he won Rás Tailteann.
While Mitchell notes that Richardson is starting to develop a "middle aged spread" around his waist - even though he is very slim - he says older riders don't necessarily have to battle that spread.
The key, of course, is to maintain themselves over the years rather than gaining weight and then having to lose it and fight a body shape they don't want.
Richardson is only about 1kg heavier than he was in 2005. That's a weight gain many former racing cyclists would be delighted with over such a long period after they'd stopped competing.
But Simon Richardon's examination shows he's lost muscle mass and replaced it with fat - a fairly considerable shift, according to Mitchell, despite a very modest weight gain.
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