UAE Team Emirates - XRG's failed experiment could be a Tour de France game-changer - How lactate gels could be crucial this summer

For years, cyclists have linked lactic acid to one of the bike’s most uncomfortable sensations. That moment when the legs start to stiffen, the effort bites harder, and holding pace feels increasingly difficult. But what if that changes at the next Tour de France 2026?

Lactate build-up has traditionally been seen as an unwanted consequence of intense efforts, something to flush out as quickly as possible to restore the riders’ performance.

However, that view may be shifting significantly, as reported by Wieler Revue. A new line of research and development in sports nutrition is placing lactate at the center of the debate, to the point where some specialists believe it could become a key tool for elite cyclists.

The idea is not new. For decades, scientists and performance experts have tried to find a way to introduce lactate during high-intensity exercise. The goal has always been to harness its potential energetic benefits and optimize the athlete’s physiological resource management in the most demanding races.

The theory behind this strategy is especially appealing. According to its advocates, ingesting lactic acid at low-intensity moments would promote fat use as a fuel source, preserving carbohydrate stores. That energy conservation could become decisive when explosive efforts or pivotal climbs arrive.

In peak-demand scenarios, such as major mountain passes or decisive attacks in a stage race, the body would then tap into those reserved carbohydrates to generate immediate power. In addition, lactate also appears as a potential fuel for the brain in the closing phases of especially long and demanding days.

Despite the interest sparked by this line of work, attempts to turn it into practical reality have not always delivered. One of the best-known cases came in 2022, when UAE Team Emirates - XRG tried to develop a polylactate-based solution.

Tadej Pogacar’s team backed a blend that combined this compound with high amounts of carbohydrates. The intention was clear: to find a formula capable of offering a significant competitive edge in racing.

However, the on-bike tests did not deliver the expected results. The product showed major limitations and the available lactic acid concentration was too low to produce a noticeable effect. Another fundamental drawback compounded the issue: riders did not like the taste.

Faced with those problems, the project was shelved and the riders returned to the standard nutrition strategies currently dominating the professional peloton.

The search did not end there. One name that has kept pushing in this direction is Aitor Viribay, a sports scientist with experience at NetCompany INEOS. For years, Viribay worked with culinary specialists on a project that combined physico-chemistry and modern techniques to solve a problem that had gone unanswered for decades.

The result is ExoLactate, an edible gel rich in lactate that, according to its developers, is completely natural. The product has already received approval from the relevant food authorities and has raised no objections from anti-doping bodies.

Viribay was notably upbeat when presenting the breakthrough, claiming that a barrier many researchers had tried to crack for roughly half a century had finally been overcome.

This innovation is now in production and has already been tested with elite athletes, including cyclists and ultramarathoners. Although it will take time to gauge its real impact in competition, the interest within performance circles is clear.

As a result, nutrition could become one of the major talking points in the coming months. Beyond traditional factors such as aerodynamics, conditioning, or grams of carbohydrate per hour, lactate is emerging as an element that could reshape how pros tackle the most demanding races.

If expectations are confirmed, lactic acid may cease to be seen solely as a byproduct of suffering on the bike and instead become one of the most valuable tools in the pursuit of performance.