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Sport and Nutrition - Be on top form for the classic cycling seasonWith the arrival of good weather, cycling training intensifies. Preparation for the cycling classics requires specific training. The diet must be carefully prepared and food stops chosen carefully. It is important to prepare your muscles well for such an intense event. With our sports nutritionist, find out how to optimise your diet to be better prepared for the classics season.
Preparation and long-term work
As opposed to running races, cycling is a "carried" sport that uses fewer muscle groups, making recovery easier due to the inertia effect. In physical terms, it requires two to three times as much time training.Road cycling is an endurance sport that makes strong demands on the cardiovascular system. It is most often the aerobic energy mechanisms that are used to provide the body with energy during prolonged exercise. The anaerobic energy mechanisms are also in great demand, especially during sprints.
As a result, to train effectively for cycling, it's not enough to clock up kilometres. A "good outing" certainly allows you to improve endurance but to develop power you have to train over timed circuits or on hills. The pace must also be chosen in order to minimise neuromuscular fatigue around 90-100 rpm, getting as close as possible to your Preferred Pedalling Rate, except for sprints and at the start of breakaways where the rate can increase.
Riding in a cycling classic, an intense event taking place over a single day, involves a huge energy expenditure. Energy expenditure varies according to several factors: duration and intensity of the race, hilliness of the course, altitude, weather (wind, rain or sun), the fact of riding alone or in a pack, etc...
Energy needs doubled !
To cover about 15,000 to 35,000 km every year, a cyclist must consume about 3,000 to 6,000 kcal/day. In comparison, a sedentary adult man has energy requirements of about 2,500 to 3,000 kcal/day. The aim of the cycle racer will be to provide his body with good quality energy without excess fat. Carbohydrates provide the greater part of the energy intake of sportsmen and women, more than 55% (starchy foods, cereals, potatoes, dried vegetables, etc.), 10 to 15% coming from proteins (meats, fish, eggs, diary products) and about 30% from lipids or fats (oils, fatty substances, dressings).Carbohydrate intake is favoured to enable sufficient energy supply to the muscles and to fill up glycogen reserves. In man, only ¼ of the energy coming from foods eaten is stored and used to produce movement. The remaining ¾ are lost as heat.
Heat exchange between a cyclist and the outside environment is continuous and significantly greater compared to a sedentary adult. This is all the more important to take into consideration given that cycling competitions are often long, potentially up to 8 hours.
Heat exchanges take place in 4 ways :
- The sun's rays or radiation, which heats the skin; this is why light airy clothes are preferred and you should avoid riding without a shirt (the skin absorbs heat better).
- Conduction, contributing heat by contact, in particular with the saddle and pedals.
- Evaporation of sweat into the air, enabling regulation of body temperature.
- Contact of air (wind, rain) with the skin, which cools the body by convection, which is why you should cover yourself up at the top of mountain passes before starting the decent.
So the cyclist must ensure sufficient water intake to compensate for losses specific to competition cycling, about 2 to 3 litres during a classic road race and even more under extreme conditions (altitude, mountain race, hot or very cold weather, etc.).
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Look after your hydration
In sportsmen and women, energy and water losses are high. In temperate conditions (20°C), the effects of dehydration are felt after 90 minutes of intense exercise. Inadequate hydration can reduce vigilance, concentration and especially muscle efficiency, so affecting sporting results.In training and before the race
On long training days drink at least 2.5 litres of water, not forgetting to fill your bottles with an isotonic drink such as Isostar Long Energy. Made up from a blend of simple and complex carbohydrates based on maltodextrins and starch, this drink supplies progressive and prolonged energy. In addition, the antioxidants vitamin content (C and E) reduce the oxidative stress associated with intensive exercise and vitamin B1 encourages the conversion of carbohydrates to energy.
During the 3 days before the competition, make sure you drink enough by increasing the volume of water ingested. Since the body cannot store want in anticipation of a competition, you are recommended to drink about 500 to 1,000 ml of water or an isotonic exercise drink just before the event. Water intake must be proportional to carbohydrate intake. The body actually required 3 g of water to get 1 g of carbohydrate reserve in the muscles.
The facts on maltodextrin
Maltodextrin is a carbohydrate derived from maize or wheat cereals, by hydrolysis of the starch into short glucose chains. The feature of maltodextrin is that it has a weak sweet taste and a high glycaemic index (almost identical to glucose). Maltodextrin is therefore well suited to major physical activities - during the race or in training - that require rapidly assimilated high carbohydrate energy intake, without an excessively sweet taste.
Maltodextrin is a carbohydrate derived from maize or wheat cereals, by hydrolysis of the starch into short glucose chains. The feature of maltodextrin is that it has a weak sweet taste and a high glycaemic index (almost identical to glucose). Maltodextrin is therefore well suited to major physical activities - during the race or in training - that require rapidly assimilated high carbohydrate energy intake, without an excessively sweet taste.
During the event
Water losses are less for cyclists compared with runners due to convection. However, intake of between 500 and 700 ml/hour of Isostar Long Energy isotonic drink is recommended from the first kilometres during exercise to compensate for losses without affecting reserves. This also enables the effects of dehydration, such as muscle cramps, to be delayed.
Avoid drinks that are too concentrated and that accelerate dehydration because their absorption requires the cells to use water in the body. Pure water alone, without intake of additional carbohydrate or sodium, is not enough for an endurance cycling event.
In any case, always carry an energy gel with you, which will be useful if you feel drained. Isostar Total Performance Energy gel is specially designed for cyclists in competition. It is a source of instant energy to be eaten before a sprint or a climb or in the event of a loss of power. Its formulation promotes vasodilatation and oxygen transport to the organs and muscles. In this way its "boosting" effect lets you stay on top performance throughout the race.
Isostar nutritionist. May 2007