The Road Cycling Performance Manual

IN THIS CHAPTER, WE OUTLINE THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FUELLING BOTH ON AND OFF THE BIKE. THIS IS A CRUCIAL AREA FOR MAXIMISING CYCLING PERFORMANCE, BUT ONE THAT MANY RIDERS GET WRONG.

‘Too many riders focus solely on tangible sessions or second-shaving aerodynamic or lightweight kit. They miss out the fundamental of the fuel they provide for their engine. You wouldn’t expect a car to run on the wrong type of fuel, so why would you expect your body to perform on the wrong type of fuel either?’
NIGEL MITCHELL, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC NUTRITIONIST AND FORMERLY WITH THE GREAT BRITAIN CYCLING TEAM AND TEAM SKY

GO ON ANY CYCLING FORUM and probably the most common subject for questions and debate is nutrition for cycling, both on and off the bike. Out of all the areas of cycling performance, this is probably the one most plagued by misunderstanding, misinformation, poor interpretation of science and dated concepts and beliefs. It’s not so long ago, even at the highest level of the sport, that riders would be tucking into steak on the morning of a ride, avoiding drinking while on the bike and gorging themselves on huge plates of pasta. Fortunately, the science of sports nutrition has evolved hugely in recent years and now a dedicated nutritionist is a key member of any national or professional team. The importance of protein, the maintenance of gut health and personalised nutritional plans are all now seen by top riders as normal essentials rather than quirky fads.

Nutrition for performance cycling is a hugely detailed area and although we’ll cover the essentials here, I’d strongly recommend further reading. Nigel Mitchell’s book, Fuelling the Cycling Revolution: The Nutritional Strategies Behind Grand Tour Wins and Olympic Gold Medals, is the go-to resource.

As with all aspects of performance, nutrition is hugely individual. What might work brilliantly for one rider can be disastrous for another. It’s essential that, along with following the recommendations in this and other books, you experiment in training and find what works best for you. Once you’ve found a strategy and products that suit you, stick with them and don’t be tempted, especially on the day of a major event, to try something different.

Whether it’s a sportive, training ride or a long road race or time trial, the basics of pre-, during and post-ride nutrition are the same. The specific foods mentioned are just suggestions and might not work for you. The key is to take the amounts of carbohydrates and other macronutrients required, and to find food options that provide these and suit you.

Aim to eat normally the day before a big ride and not risk anything that may upset your stomach. Having probably tapered off training in the lead-up to the event, your body’s own carbohydrate stores in your muscles and liver in the form of glycogen will already be fully loaded. This means there’s no need for huge plates of pasta as, once your glycogen stores are full, you can’t load any more in. In fact, eating too much the night before can leave you feeling bloated and uncomfortable the following morning. Steer clear of spicy food, hard to digest red meat and excessive amounts of fibre. Opt for a moderate serving of rice or pasta, some lighter protein, such as chicken or fish, and some salad.

Working back from your ride start time, you should be looking to allow ideally 3 hours to digest your breakfast. If you know, though, that the ride is going to start off fairly steadily, you can reduce this time to between 90 minutes and 2 hours. You should be looking to consume approximately 1g carbohydrate per kg of body weight for your pre-ride breakfast. A 70g (2½oz) serving of porridge will provide you with about 40g (1½oz) of carbohydrates, and by chopping a banana into it and adding some honey, you can boost that by another 20–40g (¾–1½oz). It can also be a good idea to add some protein, such as a 2–3-egg omelette or some yoghurt, as this will slow the digestion, absorption and release of energy from the carbohydrates.

Have your regular morning cup of tea or coffee and keep sipping water or sports drink throughout the morning. Coffee is a key pre-ride ritual for many riders and it certainly has some performance benefits. It has been shown not only to increase awareness and lower perceived exertion but also to facilitate the mobilisation of fat reserves for fuel. However, there is still some debate whether, to really benefit from its boost, you need to abstain from habitual use. One of the main benefits of strong coffee for many riders, though, is to ensure that they have a bowel movement before heading out for a ride. Between your breakfast and heading out, you may also want to snack on bananas, energy bars or rice cakes, but don’t overdo it and leave yourself feeling bloated.

Your mantra for feeding on the bike should be little, often and early. You should be taking on food right from the start of a long ride, not waiting until you feel hungry. You’ve got to remember that you’re not eating for that moment but for 15–20km (9–12 miles) down the road.

The goal is to consume 0.5–1g of carbohydrates per kg of body weight each hour. This should be broken down into a micro-feed every 20–30 minutes.

For an 80kg (176lb) rider aiming to eat at the upper end of this range, this might consist of:

For steadier paced riding, many riders prefer to eat ‘real’ food such as fig rolls, filled rolls or flapjacks. Just do the nutritional sums for the amount of carbohydrates they supply and it’s easy to work out how much you need. If the pace or intensity increases, or you need a quicker boost, that’s when you might want to turn to a gel.

‘The night before a race is just pasta and protein and salad. I don’t have a massive breakfast and I’ll aim to have it 3 hours before the race. I then like to keep nibbling the whole way up to it. I usually find if I eat too much for breakfast I’m uncomfortable for the morning, so that’s not good. It works better for me to have a normal sized breakfast and then just snack the whole way up to the race, almost starting my on the bike feeding before I get on the bike.’
HANNAH BARNES, CANYON/SRAM

‘My issue is, if I have really tasty snacks in the house, I don’t just eat them on the bike, I’ll eat them the rest of the day! So I’ll tend to only buy things that I’d only eat on the bike. Bananas and sometimes malt loaf, but that seizes your jaw together in the winter. My general remit is to go down the cereal bar aisle and pick whatever doesn’t look too tasty but contains the right amount of carbs.’
KATIE ARCHIBALD, GREAT BRITAIN CYCLING TEAM

‘During a race I aim for a bar or a gel every 45 minutes and a bottle. It varies a bit if it’s hot or cold. If you wait until you feel hungry though and until you remember, it’s often too late so I have to really remember to do it. Often during a race I’ll try and eat as much as I can during the first couple of hours before the race hots up and hope that means I can get away with less regular feeds during the final hour or so. During those first two hours I’ll normally eat solid food like bars, paninis or rice cakes. When it gets crazy I switch to gels for fast energy.’
HANNAH BARNES, CANYON/SRAM

If you are having a café stop, remember to factor this in to your fuelling and try to opt for lighter and easily digestible options. A full cooked breakfast isn’t a good idea if you know the ride pace will increase after the stop!

Be disciplined with your feeding right through to the end of the ride. Many riders make the mistake of skipping a final feed because they figure they only have a few kilometres left and it isn’t worth it. It’s not unusual, however, for the ride distance to be inaccurate, or there could be a climb you weren’t expecting or you could take longer than expected due to a puncture or mechanical. Studies have shown that just by taking some carbohydrate solution into the mouth, performance increases and perceived exertion drops practically instantaneously. If you’re suffering on a climb or struggling in the final few kilometres of a ride, it’s always worth popping a gel or having a swig of sports drink for this boost.

Assuming that you’ve fuelled your ride well, you shouldn’t be finishing it feeling ravenously hungry. Your priority is to get some protein into your system to kick-start your recovery, aiming to consume approximately 20g (¾oz). However, before you reach for that protein shake, ask yourself if you really need it. If you’re not going to be able to eat for an hour or so, you’ve ridden for 90 minutes plus or especially hard, such as a 40km (25 mile) time trial, cyclo-cross race or intense interval session, a protein drink is a convenient option. However, don’t make the mistake of doubling up by having a recovery drink and then sitting down to a full meal also. It’s not going to help your recovery and it’s certainly not going to do any favours for your waistline.

‘After I cross the line, I always crave some soda and then, once I get back to the bus, I have a protein shake. The team have also normally made up some food. I’ve got a really really sweet tooth so they’ve normally made me sweet rice, which is rice, milk, cinnamon and honey, and I just mix it up with yoghurt and honey and fruit and nuts and stuff. Most people have just rice with mozzarella, pesto and tuna.’
HANNAH BARNES, CANYON/SRAM

Provided by Canyon/SRAM, this is an example of a typical racing day food diary for one of their riders. This would be for a 60kg (132lb) female rider.

4–5 hours before start: First breakfast (relatively low levels of fat and fibre)

•Fairly large serving (50–60g) of oat flakes or cereal made with water and with added dried fruit, nuts and seeds

•Serving of pasta or rice (50–100g/1¾–3½oz) with olive oil or light tomato sauce

•0.3–0.5 litres (10–18fl oz) of mineral water or a mixture of mineral water and fruit juice

•2 bottles of isotonic drink (500ml each) or 1 bottle of isotonic drink and 1 bottle of water

During the race, the aim is to take on about 60–80g (2–2¾oz) of carbohydrates per hour along with 200ml (7fl oz) of liquid (6–10 per cent carbohydrates and 0.5–1g/l sodium) every 15 minutes. Whenever possible, try to eat ‘real’ food, saving gels for when the racing gets hard, and do not wait until you feel thirsty to have a drink. With each gel, try to drink at least 250ml of water.

•500ml (18fl oz) recovery drink (60–80g/2–2¾oz carbohydrates, 20g/¾oz protein)

•500ml (18fl oz) of mineral water or a mixture of mineral water and fruit juice

One of the crucial aspects when considering nutrition on the bike is the intrinsic link between your pace/riding intensity and your body’s ability to digest and utilise fuel. We’ve already seen that, on a long ride, you should be aiming to consume 0.5–1g of carbohydrates per kg of body weight each hour. It’s important to try not to exceed this amount as your body simply won’t cope. It’s also important to pace accurately as, if you try to go too hard and take on fuel, it just doesn’t work.

Riders suffering digestive distress during long rides tend to blame the fuel they’ve taken on – ‘It was a different gel to the ones I’m used to …’ – but in most cases it boils down to poor or overambitious pacing. If you’re working too hard, your body will divert blood away from your digestive system and to your leg muscles. This effectively shuts down your digestive system, meaning any food already in your stomach will just sit there and you won’t extract any nutrients or energy from it. As well as starting to feel bloated and nauseous, you’re not providing your body with carbohydrates to fuel your riding and so you start to weaken. If you try to take on fuel to give yourself some energy, it just adds to the stockpile in your stomach, worsening the bloating and nausea.

Although, like most aspects of training and performance, there’s considerable individual variance and some riders just seem to tolerate fuelling better, while others have ultra-sensitive stomachs, there are some decent guidelines to follow.

In general, for ‘real’ food such as bars, flapjacks, filled paninis, etc., you’re looking at sticking within Zone 2 to be able to digest and process them. If you’re pushing into Zone 3, you’ll probably be more reliant on gels and sports drinks. Moving into Zone 4, and reaching your FTP/FTHR, you’ll definitely be at that point where your digestive system will be going into shutdown.

This has a number of implications for training and pacing longer events. Try to use flat sections and downhills, when you’ll be able to cruise along in Zones 1 and 2, to take on real food. Also, during the early stages of a training ride or event, the pace may be less intense and you should take advantage of this to fuel up.

On really long climbs, such as you might encounter in the Alps or Pyrenees, be really measured with your pacing, try to cap your effort to Zone 3 and switch to gels and energy drinks. For rides with multiple steeper climbs that force you over Zone 4, time your fuelling so you’re not hitting them with loads of solid food sitting in your stomach. You’ll often see pros with route crib notes taped to their stems. Do a bit of research about the route, note down the significant climbs, and adapt your fuelling strategy accordingly. You have to be flexible and, although you might want to take something on every 20 minutes, if that falls halfway up a 20 per cent cobbled climb, it’s not the time to be reaching into your pocket for a snack!

Above all, the key thing is to practise your pacing and fuelling in training. That’s the time to find out what you can tolerate and what you can’t. It’s then a case of applying what you’ve learned in training on event day and not getting sucked into trying to ride too hard for your ability.

FAT ADAPTATION AND CARBOHYDRATE-FASTED TRAINING

A lot of attention has been given to fat adaptation and carbohydrate-fasted training. As we’ve already discussed in Chapter 4, carbohydrate-fasted sessions, as long as they’re conducted correctly, can be a good way to improve the body’s ability to burn fat as a fuel and increase a rider’s efficiency and endurance. For almost all riders, especially those targeting long events, increasing fat adaptation and reducing reliance on carbohydrates is a good idea. However, like many aspects of training and nutrition, fat adaptation has been misreported by both specialist cycling and non-cycling media, and misinterpreted by riders.

Chris Froome has been widely reported as advocating a low-carb diet and, although he probably does significantly reduce his carbohydrate intake at certain points in his training, when he ramps up the intensity, and certainly during any races, he definitely wouldn’t be eating low carb.

No matter how well fat-adapted you are, once you push above a certain intensity, your body needs carbohydrates. Fail to provide them and you’ll come to a grinding halt. If all your riding is going to be strict Zones 1 and 2 steady pace, you might be able to get away with a full-time low-carb approach but, if you’re looking to up the pace, you’re going to need some carbs.

Developing the concept of what we’ve just discussed regarding fat adaptation, a simple and seemingly obvious but often overlooked nutritional rule is to fuel the session you’re planning to do. For example, if you’ve got a long endurance ride with some higher intensity efforts planned, you’re going to need a fairly carbohydrate-rich breakfast and a big bowl of porridge would be appropriate. However, if you’re on a recovery day, you don’t need all of those carbohydrates, and a smaller and more protein/fat-focused breakfast, such as an omelette, would be better. Similarly, for midweek workouts, assuming you’ll be completing them in the evening, you don’t need a huge carbohydrate-rich breakfast or a huge lunch. Sensible eating along with a snack, such as a banana or a flapjack/energy bar, an hour or so before and maybe, if it’s a really tough session, a gel midway through or some sports drink, would suffice. We’ve already discussed when a dedicated recovery drink is necessary and you certainly don’t need one after every ride.

In summary, if you’re eating similar meals every day regardless of the riding you’re doing, it’s very likely that you’re either under-fuelling or, more likely, chronically over-fuelling your training. When you plan your training, also plan your meals to complement it.

You’re taking part in a sportive and, despite pushing a little harder than you would on a training ride, 4 hours in you’re feeling good and riding strong. You’ve been feeding well and, with just an hour of riding to go, you only have one more significant climb to tackle. You hit the bottom of the climb and, as expected and planned, your heart rate rises, hitting upper Zone 3 and even tickling the bottom of Zone 4. It’s not a problem, though, as you’ve been riding hills all day at that intensity and you popped a gel at the foot of the climb. Halfway up, though, you suddenly start to weaken, and, in just a few more pedal strokes, your vision closes in, you feel a cold sweat and you can barely maintain forward progress. You’ve bonked, had a ‘fringale’ as the French would say, encountered the ‘man with his hammer’ or, scientifically, entered a state of exercise-induced hypoglycaemia or low blood sugar level.

The good news is you’re certainly not alone and it’s something that has happened to almost all cyclists, even the best in the world on the biggest stage. On Stage 18 of the 2013 Tour de France, Chris Froome suffered a potentially race-losing bonk on the ramps of the Alpe d’Huez. Fortunately, his teammate Richie Porte was able to bail him out with an energy gel and a wheel to follow, and, despite incurring a 20-second penalty for an illegal feed, his Tour was saved.

Going back to your sportive and your own private low blood sugar hell, how did it happen? When you’re riding a long event such as a sportive, your body is drawing fuel from two main sources. The first, when you’re riding at lower intensities, is your fat reserves, a huge potential reservoir of fuel. The second, carbohydrates, fuelling harder efforts, is provided by your body’s stored supply in your muscles and liver in the form of glycogen, giving about 90 minutes of energy, and the fuel you’re providing as you eat and drink on the bike. These two energy sources are not discrete of one another and, depending on how hard you’re riding, you’ll draw from somewhere along a fat and carbohydrate continuum. However, above a certain intensity, usually somewhere in mid to upper Zone 2 for most riders, is a point where the body does switch over fully to carbohydrates. Slightly lower than this point, sometimes referred to as ‘fat max’, is another key cut-off. This is the intensity at which energy from fat utilisation and the carbohydrates that you’re able to take on and process combine to preserve that 90-minute reservoir of stored energy. If you consistently ride above this intensity, you’ll create an energy overdraft and slowly start chipping away at that limited store. You might get away with this for a few hours but eventually that energy store will be totally depleted and then you’re 100 per cent reliant on the carbohydrates you can supply and your fat reserves. You can only take on and utilise a limited amount of carbohydrates and certainly not enough to fuel riding on its own. As we’ve already discussed, you have plenty of energy stored as fat, even if you’re super lean, but that’s only useful if you’re riding super steady.

So, despite seemingly fuelling well, you pushed a fraction too hard earlier on during the ride and now, on the final climb, you’re paying the price. You felt fine on the flat run in to the climb as you were sitting in the wheels and able to utilise your fat reserves but as you start climbing, your muscles demand carbohydrates. You have a small amount in your bloodstream from the fuel you took on 30 minutes or so ago but that won’t last long; the gel you’ve just taken is sitting in your stomach and your body’s carbohydrate stores were run dry kilometres back. Without carbohydrates to fuel the Zone 3/4 climbing effort, your muscles stop working and, with the brain totally reliant on carbohydrates, the characteristic lightheaded and dizzy sensations of a full-on bonk soon follow. A gel or a generous swig of sports drink or soda in your mouth might give a momentary boost or, if you have low enough gears, you might be able to crawl over the top of the climb but, either way, it’s not going to be pretty.

It’s a fine line and fuelling endurance activity is always a nutritional knife edge. You can certainly give yourself a bit more wriggle room by developing your ability to utilise fat as a fuel but, in the end, it comes down to strict discipline regarding both pacing and fuelling. Learn what you’re capable of in training and don’t expect some miraculous event-day boost. You probably won’t have a Richie Porte in tow to bail you out.

It’s important that your training rides mimic not only the terrain of your target events as closely as possible but also how you intend to ride them. The café stop is a prime example of this and unfortunately this enjoyable tradition is responsible for many riders bonking on event day. That 20–30-minute sit down, caffeine boost and slice of sugar-filled cake gives your body a chance to reboot. You’ll digest some of the food sitting in your stomach, raise your blood sugar level and even replace some of your body’s carbohydrate stores. This means it allows you to ride unrealistically hard pre- and post-café stop but get away with it. Physiologically, a 5-hour ride without a significant break is very different to a 5-hour ride broken up with a 30-minute café stop. If you try to ride them both at the same intensity, you’re likely to come unstuck. So, if you’re training for a long event and are aiming to complete it effectively non-stop, a significant number of your training rides should reflect this and you’ll have to forego the café stop. If this is unthinkable for you, you’ll either have to factor in a similar break during your event or adjust your pacing strategy accordingly and ride more conservatively.

One of the biggest areas of potential gain for a huge number of cyclists is shedding some excess fat. It’s not glamorous, it’s hard and it’s definitely not as instantly gratifying as a new set of wheels, but it’s practically guaranteed to make you faster. Numerous studies have been performed showing just how much weight affects riding speed, especially when climbing. Typically, for a rider on a 5km (3 mile) 8 per cent grade climb, every 2.5kg (5½lb) of extra weight would cost 30–40 seconds.

Obviously, though, if you’re also training, along with losing weight you’re likely to see a bump in your FTP. Combine this with some weight loss and the argument for skipping that extra serving of dessert becomes even more compelling. Let’s assume that our rider is able to hold 250 watts for the climb. As we’ve already seen, through losing 2.5kg alone, he’ll save 30–40 seconds. If he doesn’t skip desserts but his training gives him an extra 10 watts, he’s looking at a saving of 40 seconds and 20 watts would give him 85 seconds. Now, if he manages to shed 2.5kg and gain 20 watts, he’s looking at a KOM-smashing saving of over 2 minutes.

This combination of sustainable power and weight gives one of the most important metrics for predicting cycling performance, especially when the road kicks uphill: power to weight ratio. Expressed as w/kg, your power to weight at threshold (FTP) is a key statistic to track. If we take our example rider again and assume he was climbing near to his FTP, for his power to weight ratio we’d simply take his output, 250 watts, and divide it by his weight, 75kg (165lb), to give a power to weight at threshold ratio of 3.33w/kg. If he managed his 2.5kg weight loss and 20 watt gain, this would rise to 3.88w/kg. There are a number of tables available online that show what this figure means in comparison to other riders and, for our guy, his 3.72w/kg would place him on a par with a typical Cat 3 racer. To put things in a perspective, a world class professional rider would have a power to weight ratio at threshold over 6w/kg so, at 75kg, possessing an FTP of 450 watts.

Although weight loss will have the greatest impact on your climbing ability, it’ll also have benefits for other areas of your riding. You’ll reduce your frontal profile and, especially if you lose some bulk around your midriff, be able to hold a more aerodynamic position and be faster on the flat. Off the mark, you’ll have less mass to move, so whether it’s leaving the gate on the track or punching away from a slow hairpin in a criterium, you’ll be faster.

There is a point for all riders, particularly if you start losing significant muscle mass, where weight loss can cause you to start losing power. However, as long as your approach to weight loss is sensible, it’s highly unlikely that this will be a concern.

‘Analyse the amount of energy you need, find your metabolic rate but avoid going too far under this requirement. You’ll obviously lose weight if you’re below it but it’ll also have a negative effect on your performance. When you’re training hard isn’t the best time to try and lose weight. We’ll also look at the riders’ body composition, not just their weight on the scales, as we don’t want them losing muscle mass.’
JULIA SCHULZE, TEAM DOCTOR, CANYON/SRAM

Having established that losing some weight is likely to improve your cycling, how do you go about it? Despite what many diet plans and quack nutritionists would have you believe, there’s no real secret to successful weight loss. It’s as simple and boring as discipline, time and sensible healthy eating.

It’s important to think in terms of fat loss rather than weight loss as, unless you’re carrying excessive upper body muscle mass, you’re ideally wanting to preserve your lean mass and lose excess fat. Despite what the adage says, the scales do lie. If you think that you can afford to lose a few pounds but are unsure what target to set yourself, the best thing to do is to find out your body composition. There are a number of ways of doing this, from high-tech body analysis pods to humble skin-fold calipers, but all will give you an idea of how much of your weight comprises lean tissue and how much is fat. Although appearing to be fairly low-tech and crude, skin-fold calipers, used by an experienced professional, are probably the most accessible and reliable method, and are still used by the majority of professional cycling teams. A well-qualified personal trainer at your local gym should be able to conduct a skin-fold test and, as long as the same PT performs subsequent tests, it’s probably the best way to track your body composition. Avoid scales and handheld devices that claim to measure body composition using bioimpedance, passing a small electrical current through your body, as the results they give vary massively depending on hydration level and a number of other factors.

Keeping a food diary serves two purposes that both facilitate fat loss. It firstly forces you to be aware of what you’re eating and less likely to mindlessly eat that biscuit or slice of cake. Secondly, especially if you use an online app, it allows you to track your calorie intake and calculate a daily target calorie goal, including an estimate of your basal metabolic rate based on age and weight, that will allow you to reach your fat loss goal. Be aware that the estimated metabolic rate, although a good starting point, is only an estimate and, as you monitor your fat loss, you may have to adapt it. Similarly, when calculating the calories you’re burning through exercise, estimates from heart rate and so on are notoriously inaccurate and, although using a power meter considerably increases accuracy, it’s still not 100 per cent.

As a general rule, a safe and manageable rate of fat loss is approximately 0.5kg (1lb) per week. To achieve this, you need a net calorie deficit of 3,500 calories per week or 500 calories per day. By using a calorie tracker and keeping an eye on how your body composition/weight changes, you’ll be able to adjust the figures to your own physiology and needs.

As with training, though, more isn’t necessarily more. Don’t try and consistently exceed a deficit of 500 calories as you’ll significantly compromise your ability to train and, by putting your body into a starvation response, risk losing valuable lean tissue rather than fat.

A mistake a lot of riders make is that they think, as they’re putting in the miles, it gives them carte blanche to eat whatever they want. Unfortunately, if you’re wanting to lose some fat, exercise alone just doesn’t cut it and you have to apply some discipline to your diet. When you look at the volume of riding that full time professionals put in and they’re still having to be super diligent with their diet, you definitely can’t just eat what you want.

One kilogram (2.2lb) of body fat is worth about 7,000 calories so, to lose a kilogram, you need to achieve this energy deficit. From a cycling point of view, if you’re out riding at Zone 2 endurance intensity, you’ll burn approximately 600 calories/hr and would therefore require just under 12 hours. This obviously doesn’t take into account the fuel you consume while riding, so to lose fat from exercise alone takes an awful lot of work.

The best time to try to lose some fat is during the off season, when training intensity is at its lowest. During this time of year, your sessions will generally be steadier and less performance orientated. This means you can probably get away with slightly less fuel and running a bigger calorie deficit. Once you start ramping up the intensity of your training, you won’t be able to perform the sessions optimally and recover adequately unless you’re fully fuelling.

Cutting out alcohol and processed food, especially refined sugar, are two of the easiest ways to reduce your calorie intake. Regarding sugar, if you regularly drink soda, a 330ml can contains 140 calories, so just a few of those a day and you’re wiping out your 500-calorie deficit. If you can, avoid switching to artificially sweetened alternatives as it’s been shown that artificial sweeteners increase the body’s desire to consume sugar. Don’t forget, though, sugar is a great fuel for exercise and, although you should be looking to minimise it in your day-to-day diet, when you’re on the bike, it’s perfectly acceptable.

We’ve already discussed the importance of this earlier on in the chapter but it applies equally here. You won’t be able to perform a high-intensity interval session if you’re under-fuelled or restricting carbohydrate intake. Equally, on a rest day, do you really need that big bowl of porridge? On a long ride day, you might be well over the target 500 calories deficit and struggling to eat enough calories to bring yourself up to it, but it’s important you do or you risk sacrificing lean tissue. Conversely, if you’re having a rest day, the food you’re allowed can seem meagre. It’s important, whether you’re trying to lose fat or not, that you tailor your diet to the training you’re doing and don’t just eat the same, day in, day out.

Maintenance of your lean tissue mass is a priority and the nutrient that facilities that, especially during periods when you’re trying to lose fat, is protein. Depending on your training, you can cut back on carbohydrates but you can’t afford to skimp on quality protein. Maintaining your protein intake also has the benefit of helping you to feel full.

A male cyclist will typically require 1.2–1.6g/kg/day of protein, with female riders requiring about 15 per cent less (1.0–1.4g/kg/day). For an 80kg (176lb) male cyclist, this translates to 96–128g (3½–4½oz) of protein, which could be provided by:

A 60kg (132lb) female cyclist would need 54–72g (2–2½oz) of protein, which could be provided by:

Vegetarian and vegan cyclists need to be particularly careful that they’re consuming adequate protein and that it contains the full range of essential amino acids.

‘First and foremost, you should exist as a healthy person and eat appropriately. Don’t try to cut calories drastically or to crash weight off, effective fat loss is a gradual process. At no point should you feel ravenously hungry because all that does is make your body store fat more and it backfires on you, and I’ve experienced that. I had a nutritionist who’d test my body composition with calipers and, when I was trying to lose weight too aggressively by dramatically cutting calories and skipping meals, yes, the scales would go down but only because I’d lost muscle and gained fat. He’d say, congratulations, you’ve made yourself slower and reduced the effectiveness of your last block of training by not having enough fuel.’
PHIL GAIMON, EX-PRO WITH GARMIN-SHARP AND CANNONDALE-DRAPAC

Whether it’s by cutting out a particular food group, fasting on a given day or not eating after a certain time of day, all diets ‘work’ by making it more difficult to eat normally and therefore creating a net calorie deficit. Don’t buy into the hype of faddy diets – it’s far better and more effective in the long term to make sustainable small changes to how you eat. Certainly, any diet that promises fast or crash weight loss will not be suitable if you’re also wanting to maintain structured and effective training. Also, steer clear of processed ‘low-fat’ food as it’s likely to be loaded with sugar.

Although carrying a few extra pounds during the winter can be useful for keeping warm and avoiding getting ill, try to limit any off-season weight gain. Having to crash weight off in the pre-season in an attempt to get in race shape is not going to be complementary to the increase in training intensity at that time of year. Give yourself a bit more freedom during the off season but keep tabs on things and don’t let any weight gain get out of hand.

Hydration for endurance sport has been an area of intense debate recently. On one side of the argument are researchers who claim that drinking to thirst is plenty enough and trying to hydrate beyond this is potentially dangerous, risking hyponatremia or ‘water poisoning’. On the other side is the sports drink industry, quoting studies that claim that as little as a 2 per cent drop in body weight due to sweating (1.6kg/3½lb for an 80kg/176lb rider) will impair performance noticeably, 4 per cent will decrease your capacity for muscular work and, at 5 per cent, heat exhaustion can become an issue and your capacity for work will drop by up to 30 per cent. More confusion has also been added by professional cycling teams talking about the use of functional dehydration, purposely allowing their riders to dehydrate by 4 per cent, to enhance their power to weight ratio and therefore improve climbing performance. As with most things, the truth is somewhere in the middle and maintaining hydration while cycling is actually fairly simple, uncomplicated and intuitive.

If you’re regularly monitoring your weight, any sudden or unexpected drops are likely to indicate that you’re dehydrated. On Grand Tours, teams will weigh riders daily to check hydration levels. Keep an eye on the colour of your urine. Refer to the chart on here that shows the colour you should be looking to maintain, but it’s basically pale straw. Along with monitoring your hydration level, try to drink 2–3 litres (3½–5¼ pints) of fluids a day, whether you’re riding or not. Fruit and vegetable juices, sports drinks and water all count towards this target but alcohol, tea, coffee and sugar-laden soft drinks don’t.

CRAMP

For such a common occurrence, it’s surprising that the exact reason and mechanisms behind cramping are still largely unknown. If you have ever suffered cramp during a long training ride, sportive or race, you, like many others, probably pointed the finger at the heat, poor hydration and a lack of electrolyte intake. However, recent work with Ironman triathletes, racing in extreme heat in Kona at the World Championships, found no link at all, and although some studies have shown that consuming a 6 per cent carbohydrate sports drink can help prevent cramp, other studies have failed to back this up. A sudden increase in exercise intensity is a factor, so if you suddenly ride harder or longer than you’re used to, you can expect to cramp. However, this doesn’t explain night cramps. Some studies of long-term sufferers of cramp have shown magnesium supplementation to be helpful. Anecdotal evidence suggests that stretching can also help to alleviate cramp and that regular stretching can help prevent cramp in muscles that are prone to it or that have previously been injured.

If you suffered from cramp during an event, when it hadn’t been an issue in training, the most likely explanation is that you simply pushed a bit harder or further than your body was used to. You should always keep on top of your electrolyte and fluid intake, and regular mobility work should be a must for all riders, but your cramping is probably due to poor pacing or inadequate training.

As with eating to fuel the particular ride you’re doing, the same applies to hydration. For rides under 60 minutes, plain water is fine. For longer rides, it makes sense to combine drinking with calorie intake – 500ml (18fl oz) of typical sports drink mixed at 4–6 per cent (4–6g of carbohydrate per 100ml/3 ½fl oz of water) will give you 20–24g (around ¾oz) of carbohydrate. Different brands of sports drinks use varying blends of sugars and carbohydrate sources. Cheaper products will use primarily sucrose. More expensive brands blend fructose and maltodextrin, a long-chain carbohydrate, to provide a more staggered release, and tend to be easier on your stomach. Experiment to find a brand that encourages you to drink and sits well in your stomach. A sports drink will also deliver the electrolytes your body needs to function properly. Incidentally, it’s by diluting the electrolytes in your body by drinking excessive amounts of plain water that, in extreme cases, hyponatremia or ‘water poisoning’ can occur. As long as the fluid you’re taking on contains electrolytes to replace the ones you’re losing in sweat, this can’t occur. Remember, there will also be electrolytes in the food you’re consuming.

If you stick to plain water, you’re missing out on an easy way to get energy into your system; it won’t stimulate you to drink in the same way as a sports drink and it can sit in your stomach and leave you feeling bloated. A good budget option is a 50/50 mix of pineapple juice and water with a pinch of salt added.

Although it is possible to conduct a sweat test to calculate your fluid requirements, where you weigh yourself before and after riding to work out fluid loss, I’ve never found this to be necessary. There are so many variables to take into account that it’s just not worth the effort. Working on having a sip from my bottle every 10–15 minutes from the start of the ride seems to work well and, depending on the temperature, my body seems to do a good job of regulating the size of the sip and results in a fluid intake of 500–750ml (18–26fl oz) per hour.

As long as you take small and regular sips from the start and, if you’re on a long ride, drink a 4–6 per cent carbohydrate sports drink containing electrolytes, you’re not going to go far wrong.

Once you get back from a ride, rehydration does play an important role in the recovery process. You don’t need to go mad, though, and you’ll be starting the rehydration process with your protein recovery drink. Again, just keep drinking regularly in the hours following your ride and monitor your urine colour.

Urine colour charts are simple tools to help you to assess hydration level. You should aim to have urine in the 1–3 bands. If your urine is darker (4–8), this would suggest you need to drink more fluid.

Be aware that some multivitamin supplements can affect the colour of your urine, reducing the validity of this chart. In this case you should consider other methods of monitoring hydration.

Although there are certain legal substances, such as caffeine, sodium bicarbonate, beta alanine, nitrates and creatine, that have been proven to increase cycling performance, the boost they’ll give is definitely in the marginal gains category. There are far more significant gains to be made first, with your training, regular nutrition, technique and kit, before exploring supplementation.

However, there are two supplements that, as endurance athletes, you should consider taking. They’re not going to supercharge your cycling but they will make you healthier and more able to absorb and adapt to your training load.

The first is a quality fish oil containing the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Used extensively by professional riders, it gives a number of benefits. Omega-3 fats are not only linked to reduced inflammation but also to positively influencing blood vessels and protein synthesis. This means that, in times of heavy training, they can help in the maintenance of muscle mass. Although it’s possible to obtain omega-3 from oily fish and seeds, it’s the ratio with omega-6 that’s key. Omega-6 is very prevalent in modern diets and, to ensure the optimal 1:1 ratio, supplementation of omega-3 is often necessary. You should aim to obtain 2g of EPA daily, which, using a high-dose omega-3 product, will equate to 3–5 capsules. Unfortunately, cheaper cod liver oil just doesn’t contain the levels of EPA necessary so it’s important to buy a quality product.

The second, for riders living in the Northern Hemisphere and from September through to late March, is Vitamin D. During the winter months, low light levels result in reduced synthesis of Vitamin D in our bodies. Even if you do manage to get out each day, winter daylight isn’t intense enough to stimulate production. This can lead to poor bone health, suppressed immunity, reduced recovery and increased fatigue. Although it is possible to obtain Vitamin D from your food (oily fish are especially rich), it’s now recommended by health authorities that adults should take a daily supplement of 10 μg.

In 2017, the UK magazine Cycling Weekly anonymously surveyed its readers and found that 5 per cent of those who responded admitted to doping. There have also been a number of cases of riders in time trials, taking part in Masters events and at Gran Fondos testing positive for banned substances. Unfortunately, most anti-doping resources are devoted to the top levels of sport so, to a certain degree, below the top tier, a self-policing approach is necessary. Most national governing bodies and anti-doping agencies can be contacted directly and allow for suspicious behaviour to be anonymously reported. There are a number of things you should be on the lookout for, and these include:

Obviously, this list isn’t exhaustive and, if you do have any suspicions, you should report them with as much detail as possible. It’s up to us as riders to protect our sport and to ensure we’re competing on a level playing field.

The amount of testing being carried out at all levels of the sport is increasing, though, and in the UK, for example, whether you are competing in your local club 10-mile time trial, a local circuit race or even riding a sportive, as a British Cycling member you could be tested. As the national federation of cycling in Great Britain, British Cycling adopts UKAD Rules. This means that all British Cycling members agree to adhere to these rules. Most other national governing bodies operate similar policies. Part of this means members agree to being tested at any time in any location in and out of competition. So, in theory, the testers could come knocking at your door anytime if you’re a member of your national governing body.

The higher the level of competition, the more likely you are to be tested. For National level events, there are no hard and fast rules about who will be tested, from the winner to the last rider home – anyone could be tested. For World Masters events, if you set a world record, for it to be ratified you will be tested. Winners, second place riders and a number of randomly selected athletes are also commonly tested.

It’s your responsibility as a rider to ensure that you’re not unwittingly taking any substances that might lead you to be found guilty of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV). You should be aware of the Prohibited List, an International Standard identifying substances and methods prohibited in sport, both in and out of competition. The Prohibited List is updated at least annually, following an extensive consultation process with stakeholders facilitated by WADA’s List Expert Group. An updated list comes into effect on 1 January of each year, and in accordance with the Code is generally published three months before implementation. To find the most up to date Prohibited List, consult the WADA website: www.wada-ama.org.

Over-the-counter medication presents a risk for all athletes, and a product that may contain no banned substances in one country can have significantly different ingredients if purchased in another. The Global Drug Reference Online (Global DRO) allows you to check any over-the-counter medication: www.globaldro.com/Home.

Along with over-the-counter medication, supplements probably carry the greatest risk for being found guilty of an ADRV. The main problem is contamination of an apparently clean product with a banned substance. This can happen surprisingly easily. For example, if a manufacturer produces both body-building and cycling supplements in the same factory, there can easily be ingredients in the body-building products that, although not banned in the sport of body-building, are banned substances for cyclists. In such a situation, it’s easy to see how contamination could take place. More sinister are manufacturers who spike their products with known but banned performance enhancers to raise their effectiveness and marketability.

Unfortunately, if you unknowingly take such a contaminated supplement and it causes you to be found guilty of an ADRV, ignorance is no defence. This is the principle of strict liability, where riders are solely responsible for any prohibited substance found in their system, whether there was an intention to cheat or not.

If you do decide to take a supplement, you can minimise but not eliminate the risk by checking whether the product is on the Informed-Sport website www.informed-sport.com. Batches of products that carry this logo have been independently tested and those batches are listed on the site. Informed-Sport is a risk-minimisation programme; it does not remove risk entirely. If a rider has made a decision to use a supplement, they can reduce the risk by taking a supplement that has been subjected to credible testing and appropriate manufacturing controls, rather than none at all.

Fuel your training

Your nutrition, both on and off the bike, should be dictated by the training you’re doing. Intense training will necessitate readily available carbohydrates such as gels, whereas slower-paced riding can be fuelled with ‘real’ food. Don’t eat the same meals every day – for example, if you’re on a rest day, you don’t need a big bowl of porridge for breakfast.

Pacing! Pacing! Pacing!

If you’re suffering from digestive distress on the bike but you’re not eating unsuitable foods, it’s almost certainly down to poor pacing. Pacing and fuelling are intrinsically linked and if you’re pushing too hard, your digestive system will shut down. Practise your pacing and fuelling in training and make sure you stick to your tried and tested approach during any events.

Cut out the café stop

Not on every ride, but if you’re intending to complete a long event non-stop, you have to practise this in training. A 5-hour ride with a 20–30-minute stop for coffee and cake is significantly different physiologically to a straight-through 5-hour ride and can give you a false impression of the pace you’d be able to maintain.

Shed some fat

A large majority of riders would benefit from shedding a bit of excess fat and not just when climbing. The best time to try to lose fat is when you’re not training hard and can maintain a negative calorie balance without it compromising the effectiveness of your sessions. Sustainable changes to your diet will always be more effective in the long term than faddy diets, and fat loss should be steady and sensible.

Keep hydration simple

Don’t be bamboozled by all of the controversy surrounding hydration in endurance sport. Monitor your weight and urine colour to check day-to-day hydration. Plain water or squash is fine for rides under 60 minutes. For longer rides, opt for a 4–6 per cent sports drink containing electrolytes, have a sip every 10–15 minutes, and look to drink 500–750ml (18–26fl oz) per hour.

Be suspicious of supplements

If you’ve ticked every box in this book regarding optimising your kit, training and regular nutrition, certain supplements might give you a very small additional edge. However, there are no legal magic bullets and it’s possible to waste a lot of money on almost immeasurable gains.

As athletes we’re responsible for what goes into our bodies and for helping to keep our sport clean.

500ml (18fl oz) of sports drink mixed at 6%		= 30g (1oz)
1 gel		= 30g (1oz)
½ energy bar		= 15g (½oz)
Total		= 75g (2½oz)

3-egg omelette	= 18g
Pistachios, handful 25g	= 5g
Tuna sandwich, 1 can (drained)	= 27g
Cottage cheese, half cup 80g	= 18g
2 turkey breast steaks 120g	= 43g
500ml (18fl oz) whole milk	= 16g
Total	= 127g

2-egg omelette	= 12g
Pistachios, handful 25g	= 5g
Tuna sandwich, ½ can (drained)	= 13.5g
Cottage cheese, quarter cup 40g	= 9g
1 turkey breast steak 60g	= 21.5g
250ml (9fl oz) whole milk	= 8g
Total	= 69g