Cycling Nutrition: What to Eat and Drink During Bike Rides of Any Length
When you ask a group of cyclists what they eat and drink on rides, you’ll get almost as many answers as there are riders in the group. Everyone fuels rides a little differently, which is perfectly normal. Cycling nutrition and hydration are not one size fits all. However there are some key principles cyclists should use as starting points.
Once we discuss the principles, I’ll give you recommendations for short, medium, long, and ultra-long rides.
Cycling Nutrition Principles to Remember
Hydration drives cycling nutrition strategy
Your nutrition strategy can only work if you are well hydrated. It doesn’t matter what you eat or how much; if you are dehydrated that energy will either make it to working muscles more slowly or stay in your gut long enough to lead to nausea. Dehydration slows gastric emptying and slows gut motility. At first, the detriment is small, but it gets worse the more dehydrated you become.
Carbohydrate fuels high intensity cycling
There is a time and place for training with low carbohydrate stores. However, when it’s time to go hard in interval workouts or competitions, those high-intensity efforts are fueled by carbohydrate. If you don’t have carbohydrate available, your power output, ability to repeat hard efforts, and likelihood of success all go down. Cycling is an intermittent-intensity sport, meaning there are periods when of low- to-moderate intensity that are primarily fueled by fat, but there critical moments of group rides or competitions are higher intensity efforts that require carbohydrate. Similarly, the interval workouts that build the fitness that makes those high-power efforts possible are fueled by carbohydrate.
Cycling nutrition during rides is therefore affected by not only the length of the ride, but potentially by intensity demands as well.
Eat carbohydrate while cycling, just not too much
The standard sports nutrition recommendation of 30-60 grams of carbohydrate per hour of aerobic exercise is based on the fact most people can only absorb about 1 gram of carbohydrate per minute. That doesn’t mean you always need to consume as much as you can possibly absorb. You only need to aim for the high end of the range – or train your gut to absorb up to 90 grams/hr – when your rides are long enough and/or strenuous enough to deplete carbohydrate stores.
I find it’s better to gauge carbohydrate intake by a rider’s hourly kilojoule output. If you’re riding with a power meter I recommend consuming enough carbohydrate Calories (Note: Calories with a capital C = kilocalories) to replenish 20-30% the kilojoules of work you’re doing per hour. For example, 500 kilojoules/hr is good ballpark for the work done by a medium-sized, moderately-fit male cyclist riding at a sustainable endurance pace. I’d recommend this rider aim for 100-150 Calories of carbohydrate (25-37 grams) per hour during rides longer than 90 minutes. If that same rider is racing or in a fast group doing 800 kilojoules of work per hour, then 40-60 grams of carbohydrate per hour may be necessary.
Overeating is worse than eating too little
On the bike it’s better to be a little hungry than to be over filled. Overeating is one of the most common mistakes I see during longer rides and gran fondos. Eating more than you need or can process quickly means you have food hanging around in your gut too long. That scenario often leads to nausea. To make matters worse, the only remedy involves slowing down, cooling down, sipping water, and waiting.
On the other hand, erring on the side of being slightly hungry means you can quickly and easily get back to feeling great by eating some carbohydrate. Assuming you’re well hydrated, fixing a slight caloric deficit only requires 10 minutes and consumption of about 20-25 grams of carbohydrate.
Separate energy from hydration
Carbohydrate-rich sports drinks can be very useful, but like everything else there is a time and a place. When considering what to drink, I think it’s worth considering how much you’ll need to drink. If it’s hot out, your hydration needs will increase dramatically, but your ability to absorb carbohydrate will not. When your hydration is in your bottles and your food energy is in your pocket, you can adjust intake independently based on temperature and intensity.
With all of the above taken into consideration, here’s what to eat and drink for rides of any length:
Cycling Nutrition for Rides of Any Length
Short Rides (up to 60-75 minutes)
Hydration: plain water
Calories: None
Rationale: If it’s been 24 hours or more since your last strenuous workout, your muscle glycogen stores should be fully replenished. With full glycogen stores you have more than enough carbohydrate on board to fuel a short ride. And since short rides are often very intense (like indoor interval workouts or criteriums), you’re not going to be able to digest food very well anyway. Fluid replenishment is the highest priority, because you can sweat out up to 1.5 liters of fluid in a hot, high-intensity hour.
After the ride: You don’t need a huge meal, but consuming a small meal rich in carbohydrate and containing a moderate amount of protein within 30-60 minutes after your ride will help jumpstart glycogen replenishment
Medium Rides (1-3 hours)
Hydration: water and/or electrolyte-rich sports drink
Calories: 20-30% of hourly energy expenditure if known, 30-60 grams of carbohydrate per hour if energy expenditure is unknown.
Recommended calorie sources: bars/foods with mix of carbohydrate, fat, and protein for moderate-intensity rides. Shift more to simple sugars from chewables or gels as intensity increases.
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Rationale: For cycling nutrition within this range, consuming carbohydrate has been conclusively shown to improve performance in intermittent-intensity sports like cycling. Sustainable power, peak power, and time to exhaustion increase, and repeatability of hard efforts improves.
After the Ride: You’ll definitely want a moderate-sized meal rich in carbohydrate, protein, and fat within 60 minutes after the ride. Save recovery drinks for rides that accumulate more than 1500 kilojoules of work, or for times when you will be training hard again within the same day or less than about 18 hours.
Long Rides (3-6 hours)
Hydration: preferred combo of water, electrolyte drink, carbohydrate drink. Separate energy from hydration when anticipating hot weather or high-intensity.
Calories: 20-30% of hourly energy expenditure if known, 30-60 grams of carbohydrate per hour if energy expenditure is unknown.
Recommended calorie sources: Start with solid foods, including sandwiches, homemade rice bars, and sports nutrition bars (we recommend ProBar Peak). Save the chewables and gels for the last third of the ride.
After the ride: Sit down to a substantial meal within 60 minutes of finishing the ride. Start with a carbohydrate-rich recovery drink if you’re not going to be able to get a meal right away, or if you’re doing a multi-day event. You don’t need to gorge yourself, especially if you were eating properly on the bike. It is better to have a regular sized meal and continue snacking and hydrating throughout the afternoon/evening. Consider a pre-bedtime snack to fuel muscle protein synthesis overnight.
Extra-long Rides (6+ Hours)
Hydration: preferred combo of water, electrolyte drink, carbohydrate drink. Separate energy from hydration when anticipating hot weather or high-intensity.
Calories: 20-30% of hourly energy expenditure if known, 30-60 grams of carbohydrate per hour if energy expenditure is unknown. Be conservative with caloric intake because it’s easy to overload the gut as rides get very long.
Recommended calorie sources: whatever works and will motivate you to keep eating.
Rationale: For cycling nutrition during ultraendurance rides, food boredom and GI distress are the big challenges. The intensity of very long rides is generally moderate. As a result, your ability to absorb carbohydrate fast enough is rarely a problem. Having a variety of flavors, textures, and cravable foods is key. The best nutrition strategy in the world is useless when you’d rather not eat than eat what’s in your pocket.
After the ride: The big thing is to stay present and engaged long enough to actually get a good meal. Oftentimes, riders just totally shut off their brains at the finish of an extra-long ride. Instead, wait until you change, shower, and eat before considering the ride finished. Push through and stay focused until those tasks are complete, and you’ll feel a lot better the next morning. Consider a pre-bedtime snack to fuel muscle protein synthesis overnight.
By Chris Carmichael
CEO/Head Coach of CTS
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Comments 46
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A real mixed bag of opinions here. My advice is do what you think suits you best for for whatever you are doing in the form of exercise you participate in. It is not a one size fits all. Different strokes for different folks as they say. I have followed the same routine for 20 years doing my cycling and it has worked well for me. For those of you thinking I am autistic no I am not. If it works for you then if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. I am now 66 and cycle 17 miles every day and feel the benefits of my cycling.
Your just a young boy then.
I’m just a day into my 78 th year and absorbing so much information about what I should and should not do.
19/06/22 did my first 70. 3 Luxembourg, just for fun, ( started training in the February i’m always up for a challenge).
Now with Swansea Sunderland and Europeans in Belgium behind me I’m getting over last nights birthday celebrations looking towards World Championships in New Zealand in 2024. ( silly me).
I’ ve just read your info on nutrician and the last few lines I totally agree with “ what works for you …..” hence I shall continue with that well known diet that many folllow “ The See Food diet”
It does contain 5 fruits lots of carbs etc etc l just modify it in the spring to reduce weight by 2-3 kg for the summer.
My main training problem is
Family first
Dog next
Training last as I’m enjoying the challenge of not racing others but beating my last outing ( competition time).
My biggest competition is me, ans long as I’m improving I shall be happy.
Hopefully in the New Year I too will get out on my bike more regular
Sorry but this article clearly shows a lack of understanding. Very dilute sugar and salt osmolarity are essential requirements of hydration. You have not cited any scientific sources, or even mentioned coffee or alcohol.
I would never ever start using a gel prior to a race start. You’re just asking for the blood to go to your stomach and small intestine…. away from hard working muscles??? Sounds like a recipe for gastrointestinal disaster.
Here’s a start:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAhvCuJNu3I
You’ll have to do better than this to keep me on board and reading /listening.
Thanks
The article may contain errors, but posting a link to a well-known super quack is not exactly the correct way to show that. And you talk about scientific sources?
More info on the drink part of this plan would be important for salty sweaters like me. I don’t think suggesting water for the 1-3 hour rides is right. Carrying water is fine if you want to have it for cleaning glasses or to decide on the fly what you want to mix to drink, but plan to consume electrolytes unless you never get a salt crust or chalky feeling to your skin after you ride.
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Pre-bedtime snack is better than my 2 AM snack following a ride over 4 hours. Well written advice that I wished I knew the first time I attempted the Tour of CA Alps aka Deathride…
On hotter rides if you are hydrating sufficiently with even a low carb sports drink like Skratch for example, you are likely getting your recommended 20-30% of expenditure calories. So I don’t see how you can separate calories from hydration. If you ignore the calories that accompany hydration, you will take in far too much. If using a higher carb drink (like most older formulations which are 2x the calories of Skratch) you may over-“eat”.
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Thanks for the article. Fueling is one of my main problems.
I’ve been doing 8+ hour rides and almost always end up under fueling. Either I don’t want what I’ve brought or my stomach won’t process what I’ve eaten. Gels are friendly on the gut but don’t last long. I’m trying to do the ride with minimal stops and fuel on the go as much as possible.
It may sound counter intuitive but my best performance on the bike has been on rides where I have a sit down lunch halfway through. It does cut a chunk of daylight out of my ride though.
Is there a magic food out there my gut will tolerate and keep me fueled all day? What on bike nutrition have you all had good luck with on long rides?
Hi Shaun,
I’ve had luck with homemade energy balls with rice, usually peanut butter, and whatever else is around. On long rides like yours, you may have to eat a couple of them.
Science in Sport has a 80g Beta Fuel, but I’m not sure how you’d get 8 bottles of that on a ride.
Rice Krispie type bars are also pretty easy on my stomach and get some fuel in me.
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I am 58 years of age, 90kg and lack energy when cycling.
1. What is the ideal carbs vs protein vs fat % meals to eat the day(s) before a 50km race?
2. Is there any benefit in taking a pre-workout prior to a race and if yes, what would you suggest?
3. Of the 100’s of performance boosters available, what would you recommend for me?
Thanks
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Thanks. I think this is a useful article but could do with a few additions
– Practice nutrition as you would any other skill. If your event is critically dependent on nutrition then it is good to build habits during training. So sometimes you may want to change the guidelines above, e.g. to simulate the nutrition you are planning during a real event. Practice should include things like the cues you will use to eat/drink e.g. alarm on garmin.
– Never try something new when it matters. Obvious but all too often folks panic before an event and try something different. It will rarely if ever give any benefit and but very often will lead to disaster.
– Your gut can be trained. As you say carb absorption varies between individuals but can also be varied at the individual level by training, which in this case simply means slowly increasing the amount of carbs you eat per hour ride on ride. This is not necessary if your ride is short but when you get into the 4hour plus range this becomes important especially if the event is one that will require going deep in the later hours. This will also help you find out which sort of nutrition works best for you.
– Eat from minute 1. The food you eat in the first hour will be fueling your later hours. It’s all to easy to get caught up in the emotion of the start and find a lot of time has slipped by without eating anything. You can’t get this time back and you can’t overeat to catch up.
Couple of others
– If your ride is on varied terrain plan when you will be eating. For example some events will have climbs that last over and hour and descents that last 30 minutes. If you are comfortable eating during either then fine. But if you find it hard to eat while working hard or are not a comfortable descender don’t just assume you can eat every 20 minutes. Have a plan. Also this can work great for event pacing, by breaking it into small chunks and treating each feed as a little reward and a time for a quick relax refocus.
– Don’t rely on feed stations. They can run out or have food you can’t manage. I find it best to take all the carbs I need with me. It doesn’t add much to weight and means I only have to queue for water which, worst case, can be got elsewhere.
– Make it easy to get to food in all conditions. I have ridden in events where I could not get to my food because of my rain jacket. Also I’ve had times when I have dropped food or not been able to eat it because my hands are too cold to get it open. Top tube bags may look ugly but are very convenient and with bars I find it best to open them in advance so they just need to be slipped out. In case of emergency it can also be worth tucking a gel or two into your shorts on top of the quads. Regardless of conditions you should be able to get to them there,
Good article,good suggestion！Thank you for share
Great article!
I would add that on long rides which take a rider through high temperatures in early to mid afternoon it can be helpful to reduce calorie consumption and/or switch to carbs that are easier to metabolize / clear the gut quickly to avoid GI distress as blood flow to the stomach can slow as it competes with flow to the skin for cooling.
Adding some information / thoughts on how to think about the different types of carbs in different situations would be great!
Great article. Any information on the average kJ of work per hour for female cyclists?
Thanks
Great article thanks. With respect to hydration, do you have a guide for how much should be drunk to ensure good hydration?
very useful article to help dial in the most practical and useful combo of hydration and nutrition that will likely lead to efficient riding – thank you!