UAE Team Emirates - XRG's failed experiment could be a Tour de France game-changer - How lactate gels could be crucial this summer
Cycling
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.
The failed attempt by UAE Team Emirates
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.
Aitor Viribay and the search for a definitive solution
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.
Tadej Pogacar, cycling star.
An innovation aimed squarely at the Tour de France
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.
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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.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- Who cares what Bruyneel thinks. He and his best mate Lance, the biggest fraud in the history of sport, have no place commenting on anything but how to lie and cheat!whit2pet02-11-2026
- Eeesh!Lozza02-11-2026
- bravo! a rider likes jonas needs motivation and he needs to believe in being able to reach goals. he - like anybody else in the world - doesn't believe that he can win the tdf with pogi present. and what's it worth for when pogi is not there? second class victory only. he has checked all three grand tours, so what is left if not retire? the classics! go for it, jonas!Ketterechts02-11-2026
- i am sure that under the pretext of medical examination a lot worse has happened when they were under.abstractengineer02-11-2026
- dude, Lemond never even was in the same race as Armstrong. He throws all these aspersions on other American riders who might usurp his throne as the greatest ever American racer. He doesn't say a single thing about (foreign) dopers who he actually raced against. Biggest douchebag move ever. I used to revere that guy, now I despise him. His actions are so weird.fatsupermodel02-11-2026
- This is just stupid, You do what you are good at not what you are weak at. He has no results to speak of when he participated. Even Froome, Conatdor had very little. With Pogi there he wont win none of the classics. he is already 30+ with a few years left at the top. It takes years to get good at classics. Is that really worth the effort???abstractengineer02-11-2026
- Sure, little fella.awp02-11-2026
- You'll be the ongoing joke of 2027 with anything you post here!frieders302-11-2026
- Awwww your inside information must be from PogiFanGirl. You two daughters of different mothers?frieders302-11-2026
- Hey PogIFanGirl...wipe that cream from your lips! You're ever loving drooling and whatever you have for Tadej has your brain fried!frieders302-11-2026
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