so ive been around this sport along time (20 years) (37 IM ) and the most thing thats changed (apart from aero and super shoes) is nutrition and the amount of carbs pros supposably take in per hr
lots of articles state that most pros take in at least 100 gr per hr of carbs (some 140 OR MORE ) or 2 grs per kg at least on the bike , but you hardly ever see a pro take a gel (or even much of a drink) not salt tabs etc etc
they never take anything apart from water at aid stations , and only coke and water on the run and the occasional gel
now of course we dont get to see everything but ive watched every kona from start to finish for years and most of the coverage is on the front rider(s) so u get to see what they do all day
so anyone got actual insights into what a top end pro uses and more so how they actual use it and carrry it
are most using concentrated electrolyte in one bottle and they concentrated fuel (gels or powerd like tailwind etc) in another bottle and just take water
thats pretty much what we do , but again if u watch a full IM from go to woe you dont see em taking in much fuel so its hard to believe the 100 plus carb per hr fiquie
Lots of pros rely on a calorie bottle, so you’ll see them sipping on a water bottle but they are really downing gel. An aero bottle on the downtube seems to be a popular option for this.
On the run pros are passing ~10 aid stations/hr (6:00/mi pace), so even grabbing a small cup of gatorade or coke at each station would be more than they could handle on the run. If a pro took just 4oz of coke at each aid station, that would be 40oz of fluid and 530kcal each hour. Realistically, they could only manage about 1/2 that, with some water additional water.
yeah thanks for that but as much as i love Lionel hes probably not the best one to follow/copy on nutritional issues lol
agree , crowie used to just take coke at aid stations on the run , he even had two flasks made up of 2/3 coke 1/3 water that he carried and used up first.
A lot of pros put their gels into their bottles. If you’re used to it you don’t have to waste time opening them on the bike. I don’t think it’s true that they’re only taking water on the run. Plenty of pros are taking carbs/gels from the aid stations. Also depends on the race distance. If they fuel well on the bike in a 70.3 they probably won’t need a ton of nutrition on the run. The trend now definitely seems to be pushing the higher end of the 60-90g/carbs/hr & getting up to 100+. It’s not a secret the a well fueled body can lead to better performance.
What’s funny is I feel like we rarely see them actually drink their gel bottle. Maybe the producer just likes to switch away when they are doing that on the bike.
I can recall once seeing Wurf running with a gel flask in his hands in a Broadcast, and you often see gel wrappers all stuffed in their front jersey. But rarely see them getting all sticky.
They concentrate everything in one bottle. Very concentrated.
thats what we don , but you rarely see them drink it
do they put electrolyte in with the carb mix also (thats what we are thinking of doing) or a separate bottle for that
concentrated carb and electrolyte mix would be super hard on the tummy???
Not a triathlete anymore, I race bikes, but when I did long road races last year, I just had concentrated bottles. 100g carbs/bottle, plus ~1000mg sodium, two handups of two bottles each for ~120g/hr of carbs. If I was doing a 70.3 I’d probably do two bottles with 120g each. I use similar concentrations in my bottles when doing intervals, never had any gut issues.
so ive been around this sport along time (20 years) (37 IM ) and the most thing thats changed (apart from aero and super shoes) is nutrition and the amount of carbs pros supposably take in per hr
lots of articles state that most pros take in at least 100 gr per hr of carbs (some 140 OR MORE ) or 2 grs per kg at least on the bike , but you hardly ever see a pro take a gel (or even much of a drink) not salt tabs etc etc
they never take anything apart from water at aid stations , and only coke and water on the run and the occasional gel
now of course we dont get to see everything but ive watched every kona from start to finish for years and most of the coverage is on the front rider(s) so u get to see what they do all day
so anyone got actual insights into what a top end pro uses and more so how they actual use it and carrry it
are most using concentrated electrolyte in one bottle and they concentrated fuel (gels or powerd like tailwind etc) in another bottle and just take water
thats pretty much what we do , but again if u watch a full IM from go to woe you dont see em taking in much fuel so its hard to believe the 100 plus carb per hr fiquie
thanks
The bottle on the down tube is indeed usually filled with a concentrated mix. But not all pros use that much carbs. Chelsea sodaro only uses about 50-60 grams but she is most likely an outlier and is smaller and lighter than most women pros. But less carbs means you have to train your body less to handle 140 grams and takes away some risk of taking too much and having to use the bathroom. Just saying there are more options than “as many carbs as possible†as many people use.
What’s funny is I feel like we rarely see them actually drink their gel bottle. Maybe the producer just likes to switch away when they are doing that on the bike.
I can recall once seeing Wurf running with a gel flask in his hands in a Broadcast, and you often see gel wrappers all stuffed in their front jersey. But rarely see them getting all sticky.
I’ve often thought this also, typically if available I’ll watch races from start to finish and have always been confused at never seeing them take in nutrition.