Cycling nutrition

Under an hour you usually need none. For 1-2 hours target 45-65 g, for 2-3 hours 60-80 g, and above three hours at race intensity 90-120 g. The top band requires glucose-fructose blends and weeks of gut training; jumping straight to 120 g almost always ends in stomach trouble.

Two reasons: running shakes the stomach and gut with every stride, cycling does not, and gastric emptying works more comfortably in a seated position. The same athlete who struggles with 60 g per hour running can often handle 90 g on the bike. This is why triathletes take most of their fuel on the bike leg.

In cool weather 500-750 ml per hour suits most riders; in heat at race intensity you may need 900-1200 ml. Body weight matters too, a 90 kg rider sweats noticeably more than a 60 kg one. The accurate method is measuring your own sweat rate: weigh yourself before and after a ride and add what you drank.

A standard bottle is 750 ml, the small one 500 ml. Most road bikes hold two, so you carry 1.5 litres, while a four-hour gran fondo in the heat can need up to 4 litres. Aid stations, fountains and shops on the route cover the gap. Mark the refill points when you plan the route, not while you are thirsty.

On cool rides under three hours normal food and a sports drink are usually enough. In heat, on long rides and for heavy sweaters, 800-1500 mg per hour is warranted; salt marks on your jersey mean you are a salty sweater. Riding long on plain water alone can drop blood sodium dangerously (hyponatraemia).

Mixing both is the practical answer. Drink mix carries fluid and carbohydrate at once, which helps in heat; gels and bars sit in your pocket without depending on aid stations. A common setup is one bottle of mix, one of plain water, two gels and a bar in the pocket. A single product gets unpalatable after three or four hours.

On the flat and the descents. Eating with a high heart rate and heavy breathing on a climb is both hard and hard on the stomach. Take a gel ten minutes before a long climb and finish the bottle as you start the descent. The general rule: eat something every 20 minutes and drink before you feel thirsty.

Three hours before the start, 1-3 g of carbohydrate per kilogram: 70-210 g for a 70 kg rider, from familiar low-fibre food such as oats, bread, honey or banana. Fat and fibre slow gastric emptying, so keep them minimal. In the last 30 minutes a gel or a drink is enough, not a meal.

Fluid rises by about a third and sodium by more, while the carbohydrate target usually comes down slightly because gut tolerance drops in heat. Shifting from solid food to liquid carbohydrate, using bottles to drink rather than to cool yourself, and not riding hard in the first hour all help.

Yes, it is one of the best uses. In a triathlon most of the fuel has to go in on the bike, because gut tolerance drops on the run. Enter the estimated bike split as the ride time, and use the race nutrition page for the run leg.