Before Rides and Races:
Stick to your normal. Don’t eat to excess the day or morning before.
Leave 2-3 hours before the race without eating and use 16-20/oz of water per hour and 200-300kcal / hour (divide into bottles and/or laps as needed)
(for me) I will add more rice and less veggies then I usually eat and generally less meat. Most people can/should just eat what they normally do. Especially for shorter races like Ocups. Excessive ‘carbo-loading’ is not generally recommended for most people. What is more key is that you don’t go too long without food on day prior especially after training. (recovery snack and fueling in workout + regular meals/snacks)
*watching fiber/spicey foods is a good idea.
During The Rides/Races
Doing what you do every key workout. Game-play your pre-ride meal daily, especially for key workouts.
Most people do some sort of sandwich or oatmeal/cereal. Carbs and a bit of protein is general recommendation. Again not a ton of food just enough to top up.
I do not use different things in my bottles as it complicates things for the feeder. I will generally do sea salt and water, often with BCAA.
I use mostly gel in a Hammer Flask for fueling for all but longest races. (>4 hours) . I rarely use bars or mix in races. . Separating fueling from hydration lets me drink more water if hot but not affect my fueling schedule and also I can use my water to douse myself if hot or my drivetrain if very muddy.
Many people use a carb solution (like Hammer HEED or Accelerade) … if doing this I would likely just put all the fuel you need and skip gels but you might do a mid race top up with caffeine or a ‘gel on the line’ within 15min of start.
** AGAIN THIS SHOULD BE GAME-PLAYED in training**
If fading in races is an issue (ie. long races > 2 hours) then fueling may need to be increased (kcal/hours) .
After Rides/Races
Aim to eat within 30min. Most people do not need any magic potions or vitamins just eat something.
If training/racing later that day or the next day or you are very busy with podiums and/or shuttling kids around then a product like Recoverite or a smoothie with Whey protein may be a good solution.
More Reading and Watching:
-> Bike Skills project on fueling – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH-SyPWpLws
-> If you need Hammer product use ‘Glassford15’ at shophammer and get it delivered to your door at 15% off! **
-> How I Fueled My Long Weekend Game-Play for Transylvania Epic http://eepurl.com/bjKUAf
-> Faster at Leadville without any extra training
