140 grams of carbs or more? Has a former INEOS Grenadiers nutritionist found the perfect fuelling strategy for cyclists?
Cycling
Are the days of 'bonking' over for cyclists? Could this new approach to fuelling revolutionize the sport?
Former INEOS Grenadiers nutritionist Aitor Viribay Morales recently spoke with Velo about the rapid advancements in sports nutrition, and had his say on whether the perfect formula for fuelling has been discovered.
“We still don’t know the carbohydrate ceiling, but 120g is certainly not the limit,” he stated.
“Every athlete is very individual, so we cannot say 90, 120, or even 150 grams is the ceiling for the population as a whole,” he added.
“We’re seeing bike riders and runners go to 150g, 160g per hour. There are examples of those quantities being sustained for eight to ten hours.”
The figure of 120 grams per hour has been widely accepted as an optimal carbohydrate intake level for high-intensity endurance efforts. Consuming this amount equates to approximately 480 calories, often considered the maximum threshold for efficient sugar intake during a race. However, experts suggest that this number is more of a guideline than a strict upper limit.
“There’s nothing special about the number 120,” Tudor Pro Cycling consultant Tim Podlogar told Velo. “It just came as a natural progression from 90g per hour, when fuelling was increasing in 30g increments.”
Viribay reinforced this idea, explaining, “120g is a new reference for fuelling, but the exact number is far above that. There is still the potential to exploit more from nutrition, but it all depends on individual capacities to absorb, transport, and oxidize carbohydrates.”
“We pushed higher quantities in the time that I was at INEOS,” he continued. “We’ve got some cases where we have been up to 200 grams for certain hours of racing. We’ve averaged up to 160, 170 grams per hour for more than four hours.”
Seems like an awful amount of carbs? It sure is, but remember these athletes are superhuman and can absorb more efficiently than most. Just look at what happened to Tadej Pogacar when he reportedly got his fuelling strategy wrong and was beaten in a sprint finish by Jonas Vingegaard at last year's tour.
“Performance in world-class cycling is a matter of energy. That’s where watts come from. So energy is becoming a problem,” Viribay said. “If you are not fuelling above 100, 120, you simply don’t have enough energy to be competitive right now.”
Given these advancements, one might wonder why athletes wouldn’t just increase their intake beyond the 120-gram benchmark.
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“Now watts are increasing you need more energy just to match the demand,” Viribay said. “When you see 400 watts on the Garmin, your body is probably producing 2,000 watts in total.”
“It’s absolutely decisive to fuel certain moments on huge amounts of carbohydrates. I’ve seen riders hit their performance limits simply by using the most carbohydrate possible,” Viribay said. “And that’s only sustainable thanks to the recovery benefit of this strategy.”
“Our studies show carbohydrate doesn’t only affect performance on the day. It’s also your long-term, day-to-day recovery, and how your nervous system is commanding your body thanks to the carbohydrate availability,” he explained.
Not all riders experience the same benefits from ultra-high carbohydrate consumption.
“I’ve seen riders jump on the bandwagon at 150-160 grams, but it doesn’t work for all of them,” Team Visma | Lease a Bike nutritionist Gabriel Martins told Velo his point of view.
Viribay remains open to individual variation in fuelling strategies. “I don’t see it as a problem if an athlete is fuelling at 150 and not immediately using all of that,” he said. “When you are at a high exercise intensity like a Tour de France stage, it’s not relevant if you are using 100 percent of what you are fuelling.”
“There are other secondary goals that you are aiming for,” Viribay continued. “That’s recovery for the next day and making sure that you’re not wholly depleting your glycogen levels in the liver or muscles.”
I would say the exact amount your body manages to digest during this intensity of effort. Find that out and the discussion others are having becomes irrelevant. We all have different digestive systems, you can train them up to a point but not someone else’s point.
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