Which supplements improve cycling performance? 

As cyclists with performance-focused goals, many of us are often looking for ways in which we can use nutrition to enhance our performance and give us an edge over the competition. 

Dietary supplement use is common amongst cyclists, as they are often used as a quick fix to gain some performance. They can be seen as a relatively easy and cheap way of improving performance. 

As a highly profitable industry worth multiple billions of pounds, supplement brands have significant marketing budgets, and as an athlete, you are likely bombarded with advertising, advertorials, and paid athlete promotions from various supplement manufacturers. With many not living up to the hype, it can be hard to know what really works and what doesn’t. 

 Despite the massive market for supplements and thousands of different products available, very few supplements are well supported, with adequate research that proves their efficacy for enhancing cycling performance. 

The potential benefits gained from supplements are also relatively small compared to fundamental sports nutrition strategies like optimal fuelling and protein intake. So, whilst they certainly can provide performance benefits when used correctly, they also should be seen as the sprinkles on top of the cake rather than the foundation of a performance nutrition strategy. 

In 2018, the International Olympic Committee gathered a group of world-leading experts on supplementation in high-performance sports. They put together a statement giving us their expert overview of what supplements will actually improve performance based on the current research. 

Professor Ron Maughan was the lead author and has three rules that he applies to supplements for performance. 

1.     If a supplement isn’t banned, it probably isn’t effective.

2.     If a supplement is effective, it’s probably banned. 

3.     There are some exceptions. 

In terms of point 3, ‘the exceptions’, there are only five that, at this time, are not banned and provide sound evidence of a positive impact on performance, and even these will only provide performance benefits in certain individuals in specific circumstances. The five were… 

Beta-alanine - Increases carnosine within the muscle, which acts as a buffer to acids. This can then help high-intensity cycling performance by reducing acid, delaying fatigue, and improving cycling performance. It typically only improves performance on short, sustained efforts from 10 seconds up to around 10 minutes in duration, which are common in cycling. It also requires a significant loading phase with 4 daily doses for a minimum of 4 weeks. We typically consume beta-alanine in white meat, such as chicken and fish, within our diet. 

Caffeine – A cultural staple for the cyclist. Caffeine works through its effects on the nervous system, reducing the perception of effort, reducing pain, and improving performance. It works for a range of efforts from seconds to hours long. However, caffeine doesn’t enhance performance in everyone, and in some cyclists, performance caffeine can negatively impact performance! 

Sodium Bicarbonate – Like Beta Alanine, sodium bicarbonate is a buffer that increases the body’s ability to deal with the acidity from exercise, improving the metabolic function of the muscle and enhancing performance. However, it typically only improves the performance of short, sharp efforts on the bike (1-7minutes long). It can also have some explosive consequences on the digestive system if its ingestion isn’t carefully managed, which will obviously negate the performance benefit. 

Nitrates/Beet Root Juice – When we consume nitrate supplements/beetroot juice, it increases nitric oxide within the body, which dilates blood vessels and can lower blood pressure, increasing exercise economy and improving cycling performance across a broad range of exercise durations. Whilst an excellent option for many, highly trained athletes tend not to benefit significantly from nitrates. It can also cause some stomach issues in some cyclists. 

Creatine – Can improve high-intensity exercise performance, particularly short efforts that are less than 30 seconds long, even if those efforts are the sprint for the line at the end of a road race. It does result in some weight gain due to water retention, which may, in some circumstances, offset its benefits, but otherwise is a very effective aid. It’s also typically found in our normal diet in things like red meat. 

If you’re using a supplement that isn’t on this list of 5, there’s a good chance it either doesn’t work or is banned. 

You may be asking about things like bars and gels. These fall into a different category. Sports and functional foods aren’t technically supplements but include things like energy bars, gels and drinks, electrolyte supplements, liquid meals (i.e. recovery drinks) and protein-enriched foods. It also doesn’t include medical supplements like Iron, vitamin D and calcium, which might be used to correct a deficiency, although they will be unlikely to improve performance beyond returning performance that has been lost due to a dietary deficiency. 

Whenever considering supplementation as a competitive cyclist, we also have to consider the issues around contamination. Despite massive profits, there is limited quality control regulation within the industry. Many products can contain banned substances which aren’t listed on the label. These can either be through poor manufacturing processes, i.e. cross-contamination from contract manufacturing where a company produces multiple different products on a single production line and as a result, there can be multiple. Or through the deliberate inclusion of things like anabolic steroids to increase the efficacy of the product. As such, to do our due diligence, if you are an athlete who competes and is subject to random drug testing, ensure that any supplements you use have been batch-tested by an organisation such as Informed Sport.

-       Coach Ben