If you're looking to get on your bike more and improve your fitness, or want to step up your training to compete in races this year, elite sports nutritionist James Collins has some advice to help you boost performance and get the most from your rides...
Road cycling has witnessed huge growth in recent years, following the success of Great Britain’s elite cyclists. Elite riders can cover between 400-1000km a week, whereas their recreational counterparts can total over 300km a week. This high volume of training places importance on the diet to sustain performance and to help all cyclists improve their fitness.
What and how much should I eat before a ride?
Fuelling properly for exercise is vital to get the most from your workout. The main fuel for exercise is carbohydrate, which is then stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen. The body is only able to store a relatively small amount of carbohydrate, which is why keeping it topped up is so important.
It is well reported that the carbohydrate needs of elite Tour De France cyclists can vary from 8-11g per kilogram bodyweight (480-660g carbohydrate for a 60kg cyclist). Planning at this level is vital, as constant ‘grazing’ is the only way riders can meet high energy needs, to restore muscle glycogen. For recreational riders training at a reasonably high intensity, their daily carbohydrate needs are between 5-8g carbohydrate per kilogram bodyweight.
Riders' training diets also need to be varied enough to provide sufficient protein to support muscle repair, polyunsaturated fats to reduce muscle damage and vitamins and minerals to aid cellular growth and repair.
Consider the duration (and intensity) of training sessions, you can then plan your fuelling strategy accordingly. For a weekend ride under 3 hours; a high carbohydrate meal the evening before, followed by a high carbohydrate breakfast, will be sufficient to start the ride with muscle glycogen levels adequately topped up.
Question 1
Everyone has different levels of comfort regarding eating around exercise, so it is important to trial what works for you. In general, allow 2-4 hours before cycling, following a larger meal to allow for digestion, and 30mins - 2hours for a smaller snack.
Consider the Glycaemic Index (GI) of carbohydrates - A food’s GI measures how quickly it is digested and broken down into glucose. Lower GI foods, give a slower release of energy and should be the focus of main meals during training. High GI foods are quickly broken down to glucose and thus available energy. These make great options for quick snacks, before, during, or after training and when ‘carbohydrate loading’.
In general, main meals should be high in lower GI carbohydrates and moderate in protein and fats. Good meal options include;
Fresh topped pizza
Mediterranean & basil pasta
Mango chicken, bean & rice bake
Spiced bulghar pilaf with fish
