Popular in this year’s Giro, Time Trials pose an interesting dilemma for the team, especially when it comes to fuelling. We have some first-hand insight from Performance Nutritionist to the INEOS Grenadiers, Dr Marc Fell with whom we can peek into how the team might fuel these short but intense stages. In 2023 there are three stages where riders will be racing the clock, and each of these stages could be decisive for positioning on the GC. Specifically, Stage 20 where the riders will take on 18.6km in the mountains, finishing with a 7km ascent at an average gradient of 13%. HOW DO THE RIDERS APPROACH TIME TRIALS Each rider will approach the time trials differently, for specialists like Hour Record holder Filippo Ganna the focus will be firmly on these stages. Riders will be ensuring they recon the route seeing if the weather will be a factor in the day’s proceedings and getting a feel for the stage parcour. Marc reveals that “from a nutritional perspective each rider will have their own individual nutrition plan on time trial days which is tailored towards optimising their performance within the TT in alignment with their individual start time”. This means that riders will have their own individual meal plans for breakfast, pre-race meal and top up snacks and will be advised when they need to use the correct Science in Sport products in preparation for the TT. For example, a number of riders will opt for using the SiS Beta Fuel Nootropic gels (particularly rider Ben Swift, with this being one of his favourites from the Science in Sport range) 45 minutes before the start of their TT to give them that mental and physical boost. This was also part of the development behind the product, as Marc adds it helps riders “improve or maintain peak cognitive performance such as attention and focus, which will be important for trying to execute their best time trial performance.” DO THE RIDERS FUEL ON COURSE? Dr Marc Fell, states that “the key factor is ensuring riders have fuelled the right amount to have enough energy to attack the final climb but to also manage their power to weight ratio which will be of critical importance.” The nature of the TT means that aerodynamics is key, and due to the shorter length of the stage riders will not typically require any additional intake. This means that “ensuring rapidly absorbed, products like SiS GO Isotonic gels or the SiS Beta Fuel gels will be used in preparation, to top up energy stores in an easy way prior to the start” Marc explains. BREAKDOWN OF FUELLING FOR A TIME TRIAL Product Timings Carbohydrate content Additional content Breakfast Individual Nutrition Plan Recon 2 x GO Energy Bake Throughout the recon 30g per bake – Pre-race meal Individual Nutrition Plan Snack 1 x Beta Fuel Chew – 46g Caffeine 1 x Beta Fuel Nootropics 45 minutes before the start of the TT 40g 200mg caffeine, 250mg Cognizin® Citicoline, 1g Taurine and 200mg Theanine Warm-up 1/2 Beta Fuel Powder in Bidon. Throughout the warm-up 40g Start 1 x Beta Fuel Gel -5 min before the start 40g *This is an approximate breakdown of what a rider might opt to fuel on in the build-up, timings will be specific to the needs and tolerances of the rider. RECOVER FOR THE NEXT DAY As is the protocol with stage racing, the focus quickly shifts to the following days of racing. As a team leader and Grand Tour winner, Geraint Thomas stresses the key is “as soon as you can start that recovery process the better, you have only got a short window before the stage starts the next day.” This is where having a complete recovery solution in a simple and easy format like REGO Rapid Recovery is essential to helping the team race hard, day after day. Written By The Performance Solutions Team
