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Race Fuel Guide

Cycling is a complex sport with dozens of sub-disciplines, each with its own unique and specific physiological requirements and therefore fueling strategies. This guide will help you to best prepare for your specific race or event so you can finish for the first time, set a personal best, or even get your first podium or win.


Finding the best nutrition strategy is a very personal endeavor, you should test these recommendations before going into a race. It is a good idea to test your pre-race and race-fueling strategy on difficult workouts or training races from time to time to ensure you don't have any digestion issues and you feel properly fueled for the race. You should look at making just one change each time you re-test your strategy so you can pinpoint the things that work for you and the things you need to change.


While the fueling requirements for each event are unique, the pre-race fueling strategies between all events are more or less the same. Below is a generalized fueling strategy to follow leading up to your big event.


Pre-Race Fueling


After you have finished your pre-race fueling and you found a strategy that works for you, you need to tailor your race nutrition to best fit the demands of your event. In general, the shorter and higher intensity the race is, the less you need to consume and the simpler the sugars need to be. As the events get longer, you will need to consume more frequently but you can get away with more complex carbohydrates.


Short races (under 60 minutes)

Medium races (1-3 hours)

Long races (4+ hours)

Ultra-endurance races (8+ hours)



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