How To Fuel For A Cross-Country Mountain Bike Race

If you’re anything like me, you’ll have watched in awe this week as the world's best cross-country mountain bikers battled it out on a course in Paris for their chance to be crowned Olympic champion for the next 4 years.

Cross country is one of the most physically demanding of all cycle sports. Races are held over durations in the region of 1 hour and 20 minutes, with riders on the absolute limit from the start, as the mass start format means there is a fight for positioning from the gun, before courses enter singletrack and overtaking becomes a challenge. A good start can have a huge influence on the final placing of a rider.

Typically, a large proportion of the race is spent at very high exercise intensities. Hence, riders not only have to have big engines to be competitive but must also have the ability to sustain repeated bouts of high power outputs and fend off fatigue late in the race. Climbs on the course are often attacked with descents, rarely giving the riders respite. They require significant upper body strength to pull up over jumps and negotiate challenging rock and root sections, all whilst their legs are screaming and their heart rates are bouncing off their max.

Not only are XC races some of the most physically demanding, but they also require a huge amount of cognitive power. Riders must navigate technically challenging courses, which often require millimetre precision while tactically managing their efforts within the race, requiring a huge amount of focus throughout.

Riders' diets can play a role not only in helping them develop a strong engine in training but also in ensuring they are able to fend off fatigue and produce the race performance they are capable of as individual athletes. Several key nutrition strategies are likely implemented by riders to support this.

If we were working with Tom Pidcock in this quest for a second Olympic Cross Country Mountain Bike Gold medal, these are some key strategies we'd have looked to implement. With his team, Ineos, renowned for their attention to detail, there's little doubt they'd have many of these completely dialled in for the race.  

When it comes to fuelling with the relatively short duration of the events (i.e. under 90 minutes), there is a significant focus on preparing ahead of the events as with adequate fuelling ahead of the event; the riders should have sufficient glycogen in order to get them through to the end of the race. This process will typically start 24-48 hours pre-race and involves consuming high amounts of carbohydrates alongside a taper in training volume to maximise glycogen storage.

XC is a discipline whereby a rider’s power-to-weight ratio can significantly influence performance. As such, alongside the long-term management and optimization of body composition ahead of a race, riders are also likely to adopt low-residue diets in the lead-up to key races in order to reduce the bulk within their digestive system and help optimise their power-to-weight ratio or at least offset any short-term weight gain that occurs as a result of carbohydrate loading.

On the day of the event, with often plenty of time before the race, breakfast can be relatively leisurely with plenty of time to digest a significant meal prior to the race. This meal will help top up liver glycogen stores, with a particular focus on fructose intake to support this and maximise fuelling ahead of the race.

With the intensity of the events, sweat rates are likely to push multiple litres per hour, particularly in hot conditions. Therefore, it is often unlikely riders can replace fluid at a rate sufficient to offset these losses, so drinking rates are often dictated by thirst and their own comfort rather than trying to maintain a certain level of hydration.

With the relatively short duration of these events, a degree of dehydration can be accumulated without negatively impacting performance. Riders will obviously look to start racing hydrated and allow sufficient time to prevent them from needing a toilet stop during the race itself.

Taking on fluids and carbohydrates during the race itself is often a significant challenge, owing to the chaotic nature of the racing, the limited opportunity in which to take their hands off the handlebars within the race and with the intensity of racing, breathing rates are very high. Therefore it can be a challenge to pause to swallow. As such, riders tend to focus on liquid sources of carbohydrates (i.e. sports drinks and gels). As we saw in Paris, many riders used the feeding zones exclusively for feeding, taking bottles at the start before taking a few swigs, before abandoning empty bottles before leaving the zone. Further helping to limit what is carried on the bike and maximise power to weight ratio.

 In terms of fuelling on the bike, if glycogen stores are maximised prior to the race, then riders don’t necessarily require high intakes of carbohydrates to maximise performance. Modest intakes in the region of 40-60 grams an hour are not uncommon and are relatively easily achieved with sports drinks and gels. With the twist, turns and undulations of the track and the G forces riders can pull, alongside the intensity of exercise, the gut is under significant stress during a race, so what is taken in both before and during the event has to be carefully managed to prevent it causing any issues.

 With XC a predominantly summer discipline, heat is often a significant challenge; alongside heat acclimation pre-race, riders will also use cooling strategies prior to the race, with ice vests a common sight on the start line and the potential use of ice slurries pre-race to help slow any rise in core temperature. Riders will also often dowse themselves in cold water, or tuck ice socks into their jersey within the feed zone, to help thermal comfort.

With the short duration of XC racing, there is little need for electrolyte supplementation within the race. The large sweat rates and limited fluid intake increase plasma sodium levels, so any electrolyte intake is simply to improve drink palatability.

Alongside fundamental strategies of fuelling and hydration, there are a number of supplement strategies that can further enhance a rider’s physical and cognitive performance. In particular, the use of caffeine can help delay fatigue and reduce reaction time. Nitrates (Beetroot Juice) pre race may be considered owing to the benefits this can have on high-intensity exercise performance. With the acidity that is produced by the muscle from the efforts in XC racing, the use of buffering supplements like Beta-Alanine and Sodium Bicarb has the potential to assist performance depending on the course demands. Finally, for the short explosive efforts, creatine may be of benefit, with recent evidence indicating the negatives of weight gain can be offset through long-term usage; this is another one of a select few well-researched supplements that has the potential to be of benefit. 

There is little doubt that nutrition can play a significant role in XC racer performance. If you’re a rider looking to up your nutrition game, we have all the tools you need within Fuel The Ride Academy to help you learn and develop your own nutrition strategy to fully unleash the power of food.

Coach Ben