{"id":174673,"date":"2019-07-17T11:04:14","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T11:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=174673"},"modified":"2019-07-17T11:04:14","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T11:04:14","slug":"letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/","title":{"rendered":"L\u2019\u00c9tape 2019: How to Fuel for a One-Day Race"},"content":{"rendered":"

Figuring out your nutrition is a crucial part of training. Especially with a race like L\u2019\u00c9tape du Tour, it can make the difference between having fun and suffering. Let\u2019s take a look at how to start your race day with the right breakfast and how to refuel on the bike.<\/strong>
\n<\/p>\n

Early breakfast<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The first meal of a race day depends a lot on its timing. If you have a breakfast 3-4 hours before the race starts, you can eat quite a lot. Try getting about 3 g of carbs per 1 kg of body weight to top off your glycogen reserves. A combination of slow and fast carbs, like porridge with a banana, works well. Make sure to add about 20 g of quality protein to protect your muscles. A three-egg omelette is a great choice, but Greek yogurt with some nuts is also an option. In case you only have about 90 minutes until the start, you should limit protein, porridge without the omelette should be enough. You can also have a piece of fruit or an energy bar about 30-60 minutes before your race as a little snack. But whatever your timing, avoid vegetables and added fats as they would slow down digestion.<\/p>\n<\/lite-youtube>\n

60 g of carbs per hour<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Now that you\u2019re in the saddle, you have to continue fuelling if you want to maintain a hard pace all race long. Most people need between 0.5-1 g of carbs per 1 kg of body weight per hour to perform at race pace. The average athlete can only safely digest around 60 g of carbs per hour. You might be able to get in 90 g per hour with a multi-source energy gel, but for most of the race it\u2019s best to aim for 60 g per hour to be safe from digestive issues. And don\u2019t forget to count the carbs in your drinks too.<\/p>\n

Eat on a schedule<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s essential to start fuelling about 20-30 minutes after the race starts and then continue eating on a schedule. Never wait until you get hungry! Once you get hungry, you can never eat enough to catch up. It\u2019s also a good idea to look at the elevation profile of your race to plan the best spots where you can get the most fuel in. Flats and mild uphills are ideal for getting solid food in. Steep climbs are best done on liquids only. Avoid fuelling on downhills, as the increased risk of crashing is not worth it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Will Clark takes a bidon from his soingeur during stage 3 Santos Down Under 2019.\u00a0\u00a9 Profimedia, TEMP Rex Features<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

500 to 1000 ml of fluid per hour<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Most people need between 500 to 1000 ml of fluids per hour of riding to stay at peak performance. Start drinking about 30 minutes into the race and get in the habit of taking a sip every 10 minutes or so. Make sure that you also get some electrolytes and carbs in your water bottle, as they can accelerate rehydration and keep your body working even when you sweat a lot. Go for hypotonic drinks if it\u2019s really hot and you tend to sweat a lot, otherwise isotonic drinks are ideal. A bidon full of plain water won\u2019t go amiss when you need to hydrate and your stomach wants a break from sugar.<\/p>\n

Test in training<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Even if you calculate the amount of water, electrolytes, and carbs perfectly, your body can always react in an unexpected way. It\u2019s essential to do at least a couple of training sessions where you ride at race pace and try eating and drinking the same things you\u2019re going to eat and drink at the race. Test various brands of gels, bars, and drinks and see how your gut reacts to them. It also helps to practice eating on a schedule and handling food on the bike. Never try a new product on race day, no matter how appealing the marketing is, that\u2019s a recipe for disaster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Figuring out your nutrition is a crucial part of training. Especially with a race like L\u2019\u00c9tape du Tour, it can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":174675,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[332],"tags":[3275,3263],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-174673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-and-training","tag-fuel-for-a-one-day-race","tag-letape-2019"],"yoast_head":"\nL\u2019\u00c9tape 2019: How to Fuel for a One-Day Race - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Figuring out your nutrition is a crucial part of training. Especially with a race like L\u2019\u00c9tape du Tour, it can make the difference between having fun and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"L\u2019\u00c9tape 2019: How to Fuel for a One-Day Race\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Figuring out your nutrition is a crucial part of training. Especially with a race like L\u2019\u00c9tape du Tour, it can make the difference between having fun and\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-07-17T11:04:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2019\/07\/Bottle-Bidon-CVR-profimedia-0293581356.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jiri Kaloc\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/\",\"name\":\"L\u2019\u00c9tape 2019: How to Fuel for a One-Day Race - \u0160koda We Love Cycling\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2019\/07\/Bottle-Bidon-CVR-profimedia-0293581356.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-07-17T11:04:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"description\":\"Figuring out your nutrition is a crucial part of training. Especially with a race like L\u2019\u00c9tape du Tour, it can make the difference between having fun and\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2019\/07\/Bottle-Bidon-CVR-profimedia-0293581356.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2019\/07\/Bottle-Bidon-CVR-profimedia-0293581356.webp\",\"width\":900,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Cyclist with bidons\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"L\u2019\u00c9tape 2019: How to Fuel for a One-Day Race\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/\",\"name\":\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\",\"description\":\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling magazine\",\"alternateName\":\"\u0160koda WLC\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/author\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"L\u2019\u00c9tape 2019: How to Fuel for a One-Day Race - \u0160koda We Love Cycling","description":"Figuring out your nutrition is a crucial part of training. Especially with a race like L\u2019\u00c9tape du Tour, it can make the difference between having fun and","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"L\u2019\u00c9tape 2019: How to Fuel for a One-Day Race","og_description":"Figuring out your nutrition is a crucial part of training. Especially with a race like L\u2019\u00c9tape du Tour, it can make the difference between having fun and","og_url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/","og_site_name":"\u0160koda We Love Cycling","article_published_time":"2019-07-17T11:04:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2019\/07\/Bottle-Bidon-CVR-profimedia-0293581356.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jiri Kaloc","Est. reading time":"5"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/","url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/","name":"L\u2019\u00c9tape 2019: How to Fuel for a One-Day Race - \u0160koda We Love Cycling","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2019\/07\/Bottle-Bidon-CVR-profimedia-0293581356.webp","datePublished":"2019-07-17T11:04:14+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"description":"Figuring out your nutrition is a crucial part of training. Especially with a race like L\u2019\u00c9tape du Tour, it can make the difference between having fun and","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2019\/07\/Bottle-Bidon-CVR-profimedia-0293581356.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2019\/07\/Bottle-Bidon-CVR-profimedia-0293581356.webp","width":900,"height":600,"caption":"Cyclist with bidons"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/07\/17\/letape-2019-how-to-fuel-for-a-one-day-race\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"L\u2019\u00c9tape 2019: How to Fuel for a One-Day Race"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/","name":"\u0160koda We Love Cycling","description":"\u0160koda We Love Cycling magazine","alternateName":"\u0160koda WLC","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"","url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/author\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174673"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":174676,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174673\/revisions\/174676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174673"},{"taxonomy":"global-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/global-categories?post=174673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}