Nutrition plays an important role in the performance and health of cyclists, whatever their level. The right nutritional intake helps optimize training and recovery, maintain a healthy weight and prevent injury or illness. However, faced with a multitude of sometimes contradictory information, it's not always easy to find one's way around and apply the right principles.
The aim of this article is to review the scientific recommendations on cycling nutrition, to help you adapt your diet before, during and after exercise. We'll cover the main principles of sports nutrition as applied to cycling, as well as giving you concrete advice and examples for composing your meals and snacks.
Whether you're an amateur cyclist or an experienced competitor, this comprehensive guide will give you all the keys you need to optimize your diet and ride in the best possible conditions.
Contents
What are the basic principles of nutrition for cyclists?
The basic principles of cycling nutrition are based on an understanding of the specific energy and nutritional requirements of cycling. The main objective is to provide sufficient energy and nutrients to sustain physical effort, optimize performance and promote recovery, while maintaining a healthy body weight.
Cycling nutrition needs to be adapted to the duration and intensity of your outings. For short rides of less than 90 minutes at a moderate pace, it is generally not necessary to implement a specific nutritional strategy. Drinking water regularly to compensate for losses through perspiration and eating a small snack rich in complex carbohydrates (banana, cereal bar...) may suffice.
However, as soon as the effort exceeds 90 minutes and/or takes place at high intensity, thecyclist's diet becomes a key factor in performance. Carbohydrates are the main fuel for muscles, and must be provided in sufficient quantities before and during exercise to maintain high muscle glycogen levels.
Carbohydrates play a central role in a cyclist's diet, as they are the body's main source of energy during intense, prolonged physical exertion such as cycling.
Stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver, carbohydrates are rapidly mobilized to supply energy to muscle cells during exercise. They enable you to maintain a high intensity for longer, delaying the onset of fatigue.
However, it's important to note that the other macronutrients, proteins and lipids, also play an essential role in cyclist nutrition, especially outside of exercise. Proteins are essential for the repair and development of muscle tissue, while lipids provide energy for long-duration efforts and are involved in hormone synthesis. Micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) are also crucial for healthy body function and injury prevention.
Beyond these basic principles, a cyclist's nutrition needs to be personalized according to individual factors (age, gender, morphology...) and objectives (competition, weight loss, endurance...). Keeping a food diary and being monitored by a sports nutritionist can help to set up an optimal nutrition plan.
Now that we've seen the main principles of cycling nutrition, let's take a closer look at nutrition before a race or bike ride.
How do you adapt your diet before a race or bike ride?
Adapting your diet before a race or bike ride is important to optimize energy reserves, maintain performance and avoid digestive problems. The key lies in a well-planned nutritional strategy, taking into account the duration and intensity of the effort ahead.
For long races or outings (>90 min), we recommend a carbohydrate-rich diet in the days leading up to the event, known as "glycogen overcompensation". This involves consuming around 10g of carbohydrates per kg of body mass for 2 to 3 days before the event. This method maximizes muscle and liver glycogen reserves, the main energy substrate during prolonged effort.
Foods with a relatively low glycemic index, such as pasta, rice that's not overcooked, potatoes, wholemeal bread, cereals... This is where raw manioc maltodextrin can be of interest, to help athletes reach their carbohydrate quotas without overloading their digestive system.
The day before the race, it's advisable to reduce carbohydrate intake slightly to avoid a feeling of overload at the start. The last hearty meal should be eaten at least 12 hours before the event, while a relatively carbohydrate-dense but easily digestible dinner is recommended in the evening.
On race morning, eat a breakfast rich in carbohydrates and balanced in fats and proteins 2 to 3 hours before the start. It's also important to stay well hydrated, especially with water.
As mentioned above, maltodextrin can be an interesting asset for optimizing glycogen reserves before a race. Maltodextrin is a complex carbohydrate with a generally high glycemic index, obtained by the hydrolysis of starch. Unlike simple sugars, some maltodextrins (such as cassava DE 10) are absorbed gradually, providing long-lasting energy without causing a glycemic spike. It is therefore particularly suitable for loading carbohydrate reserves in the days leading up to an endurance event, or as a carbohydrate base in a performance drink. What's more, maltodextrin is generally well tolerated by the digestive system and can be easily incorporated into a variety of preparations (drinks, gels, bars, etc.).
Whatever the type of effort, it's important to test your nutritional strategy during training to make sure it's digestive-tolerant and effective. As each cyclist is unique, there is no such thing as a universal nutritional plan. You need to personalize your approach according to your individual characteristics (weight, metabolism...), eating habits and preferences, and race conditions (weather, course profile...).
Now that we've seen how to adapt your diet before exercise, let's look at what you need to eat and drink during a cycling outing or race.
What to eat and drink while cycling?
During intense and prolonged physical activity such as cycling, it is necessary to maintain sufficient energy intake and optimal hydration to support performance and prevent fatigue.
Nutritional requirements depend on a number of factors, such as the duration and intensity of exercise, environmental conditions (temperature, humidity) and individual characteristics (weight, metabolism, level of training).
In terms of hydration, we recommend drinking regularly to compensate for the water lost through perspiration. The rate of perspiration can vary from 0.5 to 2 L/h, depending on the individual and conditions. It is therefore important to drink before you feel thirsty, at a rate of 150 to 250 ml every 15 to 20 minutes. Water is the basic drink, but for efforts lasting more than 1 hour, it's best to use an energy drink (≠ energy drink) containing carbohydrates, electrolytes and vitamin C. This helps to maintain blood sugar levels, promote water absorption, compensate for mineral losses and delay the onset of fatigue.
In terms of energy intake, carbohydrates are the main fuel for intense exercise. It is recommended to consume a minimum of 50g of carbohydrates per hour, to be adapted according to the duration and intensity of the exercise. For very long-duration, high-intensity exercise (>2h30), carbohydrate intake can be as high as 90g/h, or even 100g/h. It's important to try out different feeding strategies during training to find out what works best from a digestive and taste point of view.
Carbohydrate-rich solid foods such as energy bars, bananas or sandwiches can be eaten during less intense phases (refuelling). They provide a feeling of satiety and offer a variety of flavours. During more intense phases, it is preferable to use liquid or semi-liquid foods such as gels, energy drinks or fruit purées, which are easier to digest and assimilate.
A good nutrition plan during exercise can combine these different forms of carbohydrate. For example, you can plan for 1 x 25g gel and 500 ml energy drink per hour, based on manioc maltodextrin for example, supplemented by a bar or solid food every 2 to 3 hours. It's important to test your meal plan during training sessions and adapt it if necessary, according to your digestive tolerance and preferences.
For professional cyclists, particularly in stage races such as the Tour de France, carbohydrate intake can be even higher. During mountain stages, it's not uncommon for riders to consume up to 120g of carbohydrates per hour, in the form of gels, bars, drinks and solid foods. Particular attention is paid to the variety of carbohydrate sources (glucose, fructose, maltodextrin) to optimize intestinal absorption and limit the risk of gastrointestinal disorders.
What to eat after cycling
After a bike ride, it's just as important to eat well and stay hydrated to promote recovery and replenish energy reserves. The aim is to compensate for water and electrolyte losses, restore muscle glycogen stores and provide protein to repair muscle damage. In the first hour after exercise, it is recommended to consume around 0.6 to 1g of carbohydrates per kg of bodyweight1, preferably in the form of foods with a high glycemic index, in liquid form to allow rapid gastric emptying. This enables rapid replenishment of glycogen reserves and optimizes muscle fiber repair metabolism via proteins.
Protein powder can also be of interest to cyclists. To optimize muscle recovery, it's a good idea to combine these carbohydrates with a high-quality protein source such as whey. Whey protein is particularly rich in essential amino acids (BCAAs) and is rapidly assimilated.
It has been proven2, specifically in cyclists, that consuming protein in addition to carbohydrates in a recovery ration during the first 2h after exercise enabled them to perform better the following day, compared to taking carbohydrates only (isocaloric).
A dose of 20 to 25g of protein, naturally providing around 3g of leucine, is recommended to stimulate muscle protein synthesis to the maximum. In practice, for example, you can prepare a homemade recovery drink by mixing 40g oatmeal, 25g whey, 1 banana and 500ml skimmed or plant milk. Or drink a smoothie made with 150g fruit (banana, blueberry, etc.), 250ml yoghurt and 20g whey. The addition of a little honey or agave syrup can be an interesting option to increase the glycemic index of the mixture, especially sought-after during this period of long-term, high-intensity post-exercise.
There are products specially formulated to optimize recovery after "immediate" high-intensity endurance exercise, comprising a source of rapidly-absorbed protein and high-GI carbohydrates, such as ProRecovery. This specific product is also widely used post-match in professional rugby and soccer.
After this early phase of protein and carbohydrate intake via a liquid solution, "classic" feeding takes over. This should always be rich in carbohydrates (bread, pasta, potatoes, etc.), with an intake of 1 g/kg every two hours for around 4 to 6 hours.
In terms of hydration, it's important to drink enough water to compensate for losses due to perspiration. A simple tip is to weigh yourself before and after your outing: each kg of weight lost corresponds to around 1L of liquid to be replaced. Drink regularly in small quantities in the hours following exercise, giving priority to water. While it's important for your endurance drink to contain electrolytes, it's generally not necessary to consume them in a "non-dietary" way after exercise. A balanced and varied diet is often sufficient in the post-exercise period.
Here is a small table summarizing the main points of this article:
| 🌟 Aspect | 🚴♂️ Cycling nutrition |
|---|---|
| ⏰ Duration | Nutrition depends on effort and duration |
| 🍌 Short outlets | Water and carbohydrate snacks are enough |
| ⏱️ >90 min | Precise carbohydrate intake required |
| 🍚 Before the race | Glycogen overcompensation |
| 🚰 Hydration | Water and energy drinks |
| 🥗 After exit | Carbohydrates and proteins for recovery |
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