Cycling Races | Fuel your Body using the right nutrition

Preparing your body for the race fueling properly and training on bike rollers is important. However, your actual performance depends on how your body is nourished on the racing day. You need to ensure that you have a healthy nutrition plan that supplies fuel to your body for the 48 hours before the race. This will ensure that your body’s glycogen reserves are full. You should also take plenty of rest and do some stretching two days before the race.

Nutrition before Cycling Races | Time to Rock

On the day of the cycling race, eat a meal rich in carbohydrates, low in fat and protein and at least three to four hours before the race. As race time approaches, you should focus on hydration, intake of carbohydrates, beet juice and caffeine.

Drink plenty of fluids before the race and it’s recommended to ride with a distended belly filled with fluid. In the last 90 minutes before the race, you should eat snacks that quickly supply energy without stressing your stomach too much. You should choose easy to digest high carb foods and sports drinks. This pre-event snack will increase delivery of essential carbohydrates to your muscles during the race.

If you want to be a strong performer, you should ingest caffeine an hour before the race. The recommended dosage is 3-6mg per kilogram of body weight.

It’s recommended that athletes drink espresso because it provides a caffeine boost without taking up more volume in your stomach. Avid endurance sports enthusiasts swear by beet juice as this super tonic enhances oxygen efficiency. You should include at least 500 ml of beet juice leading up to the event while training on stationary bike stand and if your GI tract allows, you, you can drink 500 ml just before the race.