Meals on the racing bike during a Marathon, The letter, one Race or just on one long tour is a science in itself. And what the only right food is, remains to be assessed individually. Every driver, every body and every organism works and reacts differently. Some drivers swear by it Glue and other sugar monsters, in the breaks. It gives me stomach ache and diarrhea, my body is just not used to it.
What is not individual, or at least moves on a smaller scale, is the catering strategy. Exactly to that catering strategy I want to come first. Once you are aware of the strategy, i.e. the timing of the catering, you can push the right snacks into your defined time window.
Nutrition strategy on the racing bike
A serious catering strategy starts three days before the competition, marathon or certification and ends at least one day after. Of course, as a hobby athlete you don't have to live like a celibate monk, but optimal preparation also includes the right food before and after.
Eat before the marathon
If you talk about food before a long or strenuous ride among racing cyclists, you usually get a uniform answer: carb loading and Pasta Party!
Of course there is truth in this, but it's not that simple after all. First we ask the question:
Why carb loading?
Answer: To absorb energy in the form of carbohydrates and store it as energy in our body.
Of course, carbohydrate-rich foods are particularly suitable for this. Potatoes, rice and pasta are the first things that come to mind in our latitudes. Let's stay with the pasta party, i.e. the noodles. These are actually only conditionally suitable for carbohydrate intake. In order to be able to transport all the carbohydrates from the pasta into our muscles, the body needs certain fats and enzymes. In fact, they can also be found in tomato sauce. When carb-loading at the pasta party, all you have to do is make sure you're almost a 1:1 ratio between sauce and pasta Has. Only then is the pasta party suitable for carb loading.
You have to know, just take it with you as a tip.
Shortly before the extreme exertion, about two to three hours beforehand, you should consume enough protein. The old hands always say: Protein gets you over the mountains! And there's something to it. Parts of the protein - the essential amino acids - protect our muscles during exercise and thus ensure more stamina. The body needs longer to break down the protein and it then acts like an energy store. In addition, the protein needs to fill the carbohydrate stores.
Energy and gel bars
Energy bar and power gels have worked well for me in the past. Energy bars and gels offer many advantages.
- You only need a small amount of storage space
- Depending on the variety, they have a very high energy content
- They come in a seemingly endless variety of flavors
All of these points apply to gels and bars.
The main difference lies in the consistency of the bars. Energy bars that I want to eat while driving must not dry out my mouth too much. Energy bars that I eat during the break can be a little heartier.
As the catering strategy during the burden I recommend consuming something every 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the situation. If you are currently in the full load, you should rather go to the Gel grasp. It can also be two at once. If the situation allows it, I always eat a bar, it lasts a little longer. However, the ideal combination for me is:
- First a gel for fast power
- And right after that a bar afterwards
My favorites
Energy bar from dm
The energy bars from dm are my favorites for consumption during exercise. They are very soft and don't dry out your mouth. You can recognize them by the silver packaging and my favorite flavor is coconut. I can really recommend her.
Energy bars from Powerbar
I like to eat one during a break Powerbar bars of the variety Ride. These are available with peanuts and they have real power. Just the right thing to satisfy hunger.
Self-made energy bars
Last season I was a total fan of homemade ones energy balls from Dates. I still like them now, but I ride longer and longer distances and the balls tend to stick together and the sticky fingers get annoying at some point.
Conclusion
Sport food for racing cyclists and endurance athletes in general is plentiful on the market. Everyone has to try out for themselves what tastes good and is good to eat on a racing bike. What is reasonably fixed is the strategy – that is Eat every 30 to 45 minutes. If you stick to it and test it out a few times during an intense workout, you'll find that it takes you into new ones Performance areas brings.
Good luck!
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