Nutrition and Cycling Performance
You’ve trained really hard for the race, you have your equipment dialed, your warm-up is perfect and you’re mentally ready to smash it!
Unfortunately, you didn’t get your nutrition right leading up—you bonk out of the lead group with 15 miles to go. You had the fitness but didn’t get the result you deserved!
Sound familiar? I know it does to me, and I know there are many cyclists who have also suffered from this misfortune as well. Heck, even professional cyclists have admitted to botching their race nutrition.
What is Cycling Nutrition?
Cycling is a hard sport, and nutrition for cyclists can be equally as hard. It takes a lot of riders years to finally get their performance cycling nutrition down to a science.
Cycling nutrition during your race is paramount, but you also need to give thought to your cycling nutrition plan in the days leading up to the race as well.
Cycling nutrition includes the foods you eat days before the race, the day of the race, DURING the race, and then after. Nutrition and cycling, or any endurance sport, go hand in hand. So many watts are made in the kitchen. This article will help you get your race nutrition figured out so you’re ready to rock when you show up to the start line.
Why is Nutrition So Important for Cycling?
Carbs are King
The most important macronutrient for us cyclists is carbohydrates. Your body has practically unlimited fat to burn, and athletes only require around one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day, which should not be hard to get. However, your body’s ability to store carbohydrates (in the form of glycogen) is very limited.
Most of us can only store around 1500-2000 Calories worth of glycogen in our bodies at one time (so around 350-500g of carbohydrate). With a sport like cycling, you will burn through that energy very rapidly. If you’re not constantly topping up the fuel tank exogenously, you will not be able to perform.
However, we also need to make sure that we are maxing out the limited glycogen storage that we do have before a race. You don’t want to start off with the fuel tank half full. We need every muscle to be 100% stocked up with glycogen. Even a small decrease in stored glycogen can reduce your power.
Top Ways That Nutrition Affects Cycling Performance
A proper cycling nutrition plan can positively impact your cycling performance in a number of ways
Improved endurance: Most cyclists have experienced it at some point: the dreaded bonk. You start out at the beginning of the ride with fresh legs, dancing on the pedals. Things feel easy. But later on in the ride, your legs begin to feel empty and your pedaling becomes uncoordinated. Before you know it, you’re pedaling squares and crawling back home.
If you want to be able to cycle for long periods of time without fatigue and do epic rides or races, you need to make sure that you are providing your body with the energy it needs to perform that work. For example, you wouldn’t drive your car from Denver to Kansas City without filling up the gas tank first!
Improved decision making: Bonking is accompanied by a large drop in blood glucose levels. Your brain, which runs on pure glucose, no longer has the energy it needs. This can cause impaired decision making and reflexes, and a bad mood! These are not good symptoms to have when you are in the last leg of a race when a clear head and positive mood are crucial.
Improved recovery: Many cyclists unknowingly hold themselves back in training and racing because they aren’t recovering properly. This is quite often due to nutrition. If you’ve ever woken up the day after a big ride or race and struggle to go up a flight of stairs, you’re certainly in no position to put in quality hours on the bike, let alone race. The reason for this is because your glycogen stores are empty from the ride the day before, meaning that you did not consume enough carbohydrates, or you consumed them at the wrong time. With proper cycling recovery nutrition, you will be amazed at how much faster you can recover. Faster recovery means more hours on the bike, more watts, and more gains.
For stage racing, nutrition is SUPER important. Professional teams in the Tour de France and other events have nutritionists that ensure the riders are properly fueling. Amazingly, it’s only been in the last 10 years that nutritionists have become commonplace. It’s no wonder we are seeing record-setting performances in pro races in recent years. I’d wager a lot of this can be attributed to better nutrition and pro cyclist diet plans.
See Also: What to Do During a Recovery Week
Improved Power: At any intensity, you are burning a mixture of carbohydrates and fats. The harder you ride, the greater the percentage of carbohydrates you burn. In races, your rate of carbohydrate usage is very high. Above your lactate threshold, you burn almost entirely carbs. To put out maximum power numbers, we want every muscle to be fully stocked so that they can contribute to putting out the watts.
See Also: Cycling Weight Loss: Find Your Race Weight & Maximizing Power to Weight Ratio
How to Carb Load for Your Event
Your normal diet should already be composed primarily of carbohydrates, however, to ensure maximum glycogen storage, it’s a good idea to carb load leading into your event. 3-4 days before a race, you want to start thinking about increasing your carb intake relative to your training load.
“Normal” skeletal muscle contains around 1.7g of carbohydrates per 100g of muscle. However, a proper carb-load regimen can increase carbohydrate storage up to 5g per 100g of muscle. That’s a lot of extra watts!
When people hear “carb-load” they might think of smashing enormous amounts of pasta and bread the night before a race. I would not recommend this. For starters, starting carb-loading the night before your big event will not fully maximize your glycogen stores. Secondly, eating an abnormally huge amount of food the day before a big event (which you are likely to be nervous for) could create some unpleasant side effects, such as bloating or more trips to the bathroom than you would like.
A proper carbohydrate load should begin 3-4 days before your target event and features a moderate increase in carb intake over your normal amount during training. During normal training, you might be consuming around 50-60% of your daily Calories from carbohydrates, during your carb-load you want to increase carb intake to 70% of daily Calories. Before you go and eat the entire Golden Corral buffet, understand that this is only a slight increase in carbohydrate intake.
For someone who is consuming 3,000 Calories per day, this would look like eating 2 cups of rice more, or a couple slices of bread with fruit spread. A good way to go about this is to add one carb based “item” to each meal that you maybe wouldn’t eat during a normal day. For example, a slice or two of toast with your normal breakfast—or a couple pieces of fruit with dinner.
In the days prior to your big event, you will likely be reducing training volume to come into the race rested. With lower training volume, you will have an easier time providing your body with a surplus of carbohydrates.
See Also: Supplement Cycling
The Day Before a Race
Don’t change anything to what you were doing earlier in the week. Consume a little more carbohydrates than normal. The night before, ensure you consume a solid portion of carbohydrates, but don’t overdo it.
Consuming lots of carbohydrates can leave one waking up bloated and heavy, which isn’t good the day of a big race, especially if there’s a lot of climbing involved. To remediate this, reduce fiber intake the day before the race. Fiber can create a lot of extra bulk in your GI system. Consume more simple carbohydrates, such as white rice or pasta and avoid high fiber cereals.
The Morning of the Race
Your muscles will be fully stocked upon the morning of a race, but after an overnight fast, your liver, which maintains blood sugar levels, will be running low. The pre-race meal serves to restock liver glycogen, giving you an extra fuel reserve during the race.
Ideally, eat 2-3 hours before your event. Some events start very early and can make this a challenge. However, you will probably be up a couple of hours before an early start to get to the starting line and make sure your equipment is ready to go. It helps to prepare something the night before, with things like overnight oats or a PB & J sandwich.
What kind of food should you eat before a race? You want a meal that is high in carbohydrates, moderate in protein, moderate in fiber and low in fat. Oatmeal, brown rice, whole grain bread, fruit or a healthy cereal are good options. Fatty foods can slow digestion and might not sit well at the start of a race, so refrain from the biscuits and gravy at the hotel buffet.
Ideally, you can consume a similar breakfast to what you eat before training rides, since you know it works for you. If you’re traveling to a race, ensure you have what you need by going to the store the night before or packing ahead of time. Don’t roll the dice on the hotel buffet!
How much should you eat? This depends on how much time you have before the start of your race. If you have time to eat 3-4 hours before, you will want to consume a larger meal to give yourself plenty of energy. If you don’t have as much time, you still want to eat something to raise blood sugar levels.
Plan Ahead!!
With race travel it can be a real challenge to get in the proper nutrition and at a time when it is absolutely paramount. Many cyclists spend a ton of time reviewing the course and prepping their equipment, but don’t take the time to plan out their nutrition. Don’t make that mistake.
Plan out ahead of time exactly what you are going to eat during your travel and on the day of the race, make sure to bring your in-race cycling nutrition products. If your travel is long, pack plenty of snacks to ensure you are getting enough Calories. Always have an emergency stash in case something happens, like when you get to your hotel late, and all the restaurants in Nowhereville are closed, except for the sketchy seafood buffet.
What Are The Best Carbs for Cycling?
The best carbs for cycling depends on the time of day and when you’re riding. Here is an overview of the types of carbohydrates that are best during the day.
2-4 Hours Before Your Ride: Consume complex carbs that contain fiber. These will digest more slowly and give your body a steady stream of energy. It will prevent a blood sugar spike and a sudden crash right before, or on your ride.
Examples: Oatmeal, brown rice, whole grain bread, healthy low-sugar cereal, fruit.
Cycling Nutrition During Your Ride: This is the time when you want to consume carbs that will get into your bloodstream FAST. This is a time of very high energy utilization and your body will shuttle carbs straight to the muscles that need it the most to be used for fuel. Simple sugars and carbs low in fiber are the way to go.
Examples: Maltodextrin powder, sports drinks, fruit snacks, energy bars, gels or other cycling nutrition products
See Also: Homemade DIY Energy Drink For Cycling
0-60 mins after Your Ride: This is also a time when you want to consume simple carbs. Your muscles are still “turned-on” and very receptive to carbohydrates. Consuming fast absorbing, high-glycemic carbs will help to restore your glycogen levels as quickly as possible so you can go and smash it the next day.
Examples: Rice, pasta, rice noodles, low-fiber cereal, white bread, juice, honey, maple syrup
The Rest of the Day: Focus on low-glycemic, high fiber foods if it’s not close to ride time. This is the time to consume lots of vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats, and whole grains. You’ve been getting in a lot of Calorie dense foods to fuel the ride, so now it’s time to catch up on the healthy, nutrient-dense foods the rest of the day. Avoid added sugars and simple carbs. This will help to maintain steady blood sugar levels and increase satiety.
Examples: Fruits, vegetables, quinoa, brown rice, whole grain bread, whole wheat pasta, nuts, seeds, avocados, beans and other legumes, lean proteins
Conclusion
Cycling performance nutrition takes many riders a long time to figure out. In fact, one of the big differences that sets elite riders apart from beginners is their nutrition. By getting yours dialed, you’ve already got a leg up on the rest of the pack!
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