When you go hard on the bike most of the aerobic capacity is used for powering the bike, and there's less available capacity for digesting food and karbs. Too much karbs/food when going hard will therefore increase the risk of digestive problems and emptying of the stomach.
When doing a hilly race, would it be better to drink a sports drink that provides me with a constant supply of karbs, or would it be better to only drink water while going uphill (because of the lack of aerobic capacity for processing karbs) and only eat karbs when it's flat or downhill?
I've noticed that all the riders in e.g. the TdF tend to eat when going downhill or on the flats, but never on the uphill sections. Does anybody know if the pros drink sports drinks or only water?
When you go hard on the bike most of the aerobic capacity is used for powering the bike, and there's less available capacity for digesting food and karbs. Too much karbs/food when going hard will therefore increase the risk of digestive problems and emptying of the stomach.
When doing a hilly race, would it be better to drink a sports drink that provides me with a constant supply of karbs, or would it be better to only drink water while going uphill (because of the lack of aerobic capacity for processing karbs) and only eat karbs when it's flat or downhill?
I've noticed that all the riders in e.g. the TdF tend to eat when going downhill or on the flats, but never on the uphill sections. Does anybody know if the pros drink sports drinks or only water?
Anybody with experiences or thoughts on this?
_________ CycleFast
I think eating or drinking when going uphill is not very practical. Trying to get air in your lungs is hard enough, maybe a quick sip, but chewing on a banana NO WAY
I think eating or drinking when going uphill is not very practical. Trying to get air in your lungs is hard enough, maybe a quick sip, but chewing on a banana NO WAY
Thanks for your reply.
The climbs in my race are long (several climbs 30+ minutes), so I'll have to drink, but I'm not sure about adding carbs to the water or not (because of lack of aerobic capacity to process those carbs). Any thoughts on this?
The climbs in my race are long (several climbs 30+ minutes), so I'll have to drink, but I'm not sure about adding carbs to the water or not (because of lack of aerobic capacity to process those carbs). Any thoughts on this?
_________ CycleFast
You make an interesting point and I've never thought about it. Since I will do some major climbing this summer (First the Alpe then the Ventoux) I will keep an eye on this post for sure.
My humble guess though is that if you're well fueled up before the climb (maybe a quick gel 15 minutes before you climb) you should stick to water to have maximum power for the climb and not "waste" it on digestion.
On the other hand I could imagine that the digestive system slows down anyway once you get close to maximum effort especially if you're in good shape. I've noticed this myself jsut casually riding. For example I never need to go "no 2" even if I timed my food intake wrong. My body kinda "knows" that the next few hours are made for cycling, not for pooping :-)
