Cycling: race day nutrition

Why are carbohydrates important?

When we train or race at high intensity, we rely primarily on carbohydrates found in the liver, blood and muscles. The feeling of fatigue that develops during long road races or training is related to low blood sugar, liver glycogen and muscle glycogen levels. This is why you've heard the advice to eat a lot of carbohydrates in the days leading up to the race. It doesn't have to be that way, but completely avoiding carbohydrates is also pointless. You should eat a little more than normal.

On training/race day itself, carbohydrates are key to performance. There have been concerns that consuming carbohydrates in the hour before exercise could lead to reactive hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels). It seems that some people experience this and this has a negative impact on performance. A stomach that is too full usually reduces performance because the food is not digested and the carbohydrates that we consume while driving remain in the stomach. We recommend having your last meal about 3 hours beforehand and then consuming 20 to 30 grams of carbohydrates 15 minutes before the start of a race or training session. The amount you eat during a race or training depends on the length and we would like to make the following recommendations:

• A workout or race of 1-2 hours: 30-60 grams per hour (depending on the intensity)

• 2-3 hours: 60-90 grams per hour (depending on intensity)

• 3 or more hours: 90+ grams per hour (if there are difficult climbs then over 90 g per hour will definitely be needed)

The limiting factor in how much of the ingested carbohydrates we can utilize during a race is the rate at which our gut absorbs them, and this is where multiple transporters can come in handy. Glucose and fructose, two of the most common sugars found in cycling nutrition products, are absorbed by different transporters, so we often see products that contain both combined. Glucose (from maltodextrin) can be absorbed at a rate of 60 grams per hour, fructose up to about 60 grams per hour. So if you want to consume 90 grams of carbohydrates per hour, you should try to consume 60 grams of maltodextrin and 30 grams of fructose - that's where gels, isotonic powders, bars or chews with a ratio of 2:1 are used. When we need 120 g of carbohydrates per hour then we need to consume 60 g maltodextrin and 60 g fructose - gels, powders or bars with a 1:0.8 or 1:1 ratio.

Example 1

2 hour ride at medium intensity in normal weather. We're aiming for around 60g of carbs per hour:

• 1 isotonic drink with 30 g carbohydrates per 500 ml and 1 gel/bar or chew with approx. 30g carbohydrates (whatever you prefer)

We recommend taking the gel/bar/chew at the beginning and the drink 30 minutes later. After an hour it is repeated. At the end we would like to recommend 1 serving of the recovery drink.

Example 2

4 hours of high intensity riding in normal weather. We're aiming for around 90g of carbs per hour:

• 1 isotonic drink with 40-45 g carbohydrates per serving and 1 gel/bar/chew with 40-45 g carbohydrates or 1 isotonic drink with 30 g carbohydrates per 500 ml and 2 gel/bars or chew with approx. 30g carbs (whatever you prefer). To be on the safe side, you should also have a bottle of water with you.

We recommend taking the gel/bar/chew at the beginning and the drink 30 minutes later. If you use 30g carbohydrate drinks, gels etc. then take them every 20 minutes. Additional water as needed. At the end we would like to recommend 1 serving of the recovery drink.

• 0.00 Gel/Bar/Chew with 40-45 g CHO

• 0.30 Isotonic Drink with 40-45 g CHO

• 1.00 Gel/Bar/Chew with 40-45 g CHO

• 1.30 Isotonic Drink with 40-45 g CHO

• 2.00 Gel/Bar/Chew with 40-45 g CHO

• 2.30 Isotonic Drink with 40-45 g CHO

• 3.00 Gel/Bar/Chew with 40-45 g CHO

• 3.30 Isotonic Drink with 40-45 g CHO

• Finish Recovery Drink 1 serving

Example 3

4 hours of high intensity riding in very hot weather. We're aiming for around 90g of carbs per hour:

• 1 isotonic drink with 40-45 g of carbohydrates per serving and 1 gel/bar/chew with 40-45 g of carbohydrates or 1 isotonic drink with 30 g of carbohydrates per 500 ml and 2 gel/bars or chew with approx. 30g carbs (whatever you prefer). You should have one bottle of water per hour to add additional electrolytes and additional bottles of water are also recommended.

We recommend taking the gel/bar/chew at the beginning and the drink 30 minutes later. If you use 30g carbohydrate drinks, gels etc. then take them every 20 minutes. Additional water regularly in small sips. At the end we would like to recommend 1 serving of the recovery drink.

• 0.00 Gel/Bar/Chew with 40-45 g CHO

• 0.30 Isotonic Drink with 40-45 g CHO

• 1.00 Gel/Bar/Chew with 40-45 g CHO

• 1.30 Isotonic Drink with 40-45 g CHO

• 2.00 Gel/Bar/Chew with 40-45 g CHO

• 2.30 Isotonic Drink with 40-45 g CHO

• 3.00 Gel/Bar/Chew with 40-45 g CHO

• 3.30 Isotonic Drink with 40-45 g CHO

• Finish Recovery Drink 1 serving

Example 4

The cyclist's exact plan for the race with a finish climb - the race should last approximately 4 hours.

10 minutes before the start: 1 measuring spoon of Isotonic Drink in 300 ml of water.

• 0.20 1x Energy Chew/Bar (30 g carbohydrates)

• 0.40 1x Energy Chew/Bar (30 g carbohydrates)

• 1.00 1x Energy Chew/Bar (30 g carbohydrates)

• 1.20 1x energy gel (30 g carbohydrates)

• 1.40 1x energy gel (30 g carbohydrates)

• 2.00 1x energy gel (30 g carbohydrates)

• 2.20 1x energy gel (30 g carbohydrates)

• 2.40 1x 1x energy gel (45 g carbohydrates)

• 3.10 1x energy gel with caffeine (45 g carbohydrates)

Finish: 1 serving of Recovery Drink.

Example 5

A race that lasts approximately 6 hours and has several climbs including the finish climb:

• We aim for around 90-120g of carbohydrates per hour.

• We recommend taking the gel/bar/chew 10 minutes before the start and then products with a 1:0.8 or 1:1 ratio

• Before the last climb, we recommend energy gel with caffeine.

• You have to make sure that you take in enough carbohydrates, especially before the climbs. You should have at least one bottle of water per hour.

After the race, it would be HIGHLY recommended to take 1 serving of cherry juice to neutralize the free radicals that arise from such exertion. Few minutes later we HIGHLY recommend 1 serving of recovery drink.