Race Day Prep

[Ncayi]

On 7/19/2025 at 1:43 PM, Mike Dewing said:

Okay cool.! I didn’t realise that was per block.?!😳

what’s the benefit of having just a plain water bottle.? Is it not a wasted opportunity to get electrolytes and a bit of carbs in.. 

I don’t plan to stop.. first year I did end up as it was soo hot I ran out.. I will stop if I have to.. thats a decision I’ll make on the day at the time👍🏻

haha finances are also going to restrict certain things.. i might be fueling with peanut butter sandwiches ☠️🤣🤣

Maybe its personal thing. Sometimes i just feel like plain water because of all the sugar I eat. I do 100g/h during races. Soni use a 900/750ml bottle for liquid carbs snd 500ml of just water. Most carb mixes have tons of electrolytes but I also pop in a tab of high 5 zero just good  measure. 

In terms of cost component my philosophy is simple, carbs are carbs. I use cheap gels or most my season, heck I even sugar water for some blocks (add electrolytes and lemon juice to manage the sweetness). 

There is a lot of hype about sports nutrition with most of it designed to move money from your pocket to corporate pockets. Just find a range of products that align with your budget, your stomach and make sense from a price per gram of carbs. Experiment till you find what works for you.

Edited July 21, 2025 by Ncayi

[Underachiever]

On 7/19/2025 at 12:16 PM, Mike Dewing said:

Lads.. how does this sound.? 

I am a 40 year old 65kg 177cm tall he/him
 

32Gi food list(consumed per hour)

- 1 x cranberry almond race pro bar @25g(20.4g Carbs)

- 1 x Sports chew jelly bar @ 50g(33g carbs)

- 1 x sports gel @27g(21g carbs)

= 74g of carbs consumed.. half way between that 60 and 90🥳.. 

32Gi drink list(supplementary carbs)

2 x 600ml bottles

- 2 x race pro super carp sachets(60g of carbs per sachet (one sachets per bottle)(should I carry two extras in case I fill up.?)

I feel like I’m going to be carrying a ton.!

Will start here and play around with what I can handle and train to eat before the big day, don’t worry.. 

any input welcome.? 

This sounds too complex for my old school brain. 

And I don't race for podium (anymore)

I take 1x banana/hr (25g carbs), + 700ml/hr of Hammer Perpetuem in my bottle (45 - 50g carbs).  Total g carbs/hr = 70ish.

For a MTB stage race I fill up on half coke/half water and eat what I can at the water table  

[Underachiever]

On 7/19/2025 at 1:54 PM, Ncayi said:

Maybe its personal thing. Sometimes i just feel like plain water because of all the sugar I eat. I do 100g/h during races. Soni use a 900/750ml bottle for liquid carbs snd 500ml of just water. Most carb mixes have tons of electrolytes but I also pop in a tab of high 5 zero just good  measure. 

In terms of cost component my philosophy is simple, carbs are carbs. I use cheap gels or most my season, heck I even sugar water for some blocks (add electrolytes and lemon juice to manage the sweetness). 

There is a lot of hype about sports nutrition with most of designed to move money from your pocket to corporate pocket. Just a range of products that align with your budget, your stomach and make sense from a price per gram of carbs. Experiment till you find what works for you.

Ain't that the truth!!!!!

[Guest Mike Dewing]

18 hours ago, Underachiever said:

This sounds too complex for my old school brain. 

And I don't race for podium (anymore)

I take 1x banana/hr (25g carbs), + 700ml/hr of Hammer Perpetuem in my bottle (45 - 50g carbs).  Total g carbs/hr = 70ish.

For a MTB stage race I fill up on half coke/half water and eat what I can at the water table  

I tend to waaay overthink ****🥵

It’ll simplify over the next couple months as I find what works for the stomach, the wallet etc.. 🥳👍🏻

I’m thinking maybe just plain water in one bottle is a refreshing change from all the carbs and sugary flavoring 🤔 I might do that.. 

[jcza]

On 7/21/2025 at 2:21 PM, Underachiever said:

This sounds too complex for my old school brain. 

And I don't race for podium (anymore)

I take 1x banana/hr (25g carbs), + 700ml/hr of Hammer Perpetuem in my bottle (45 - 50g carbs).  Total g carbs/hr = 70ish.

For a MTB stage race I fill up on half coke/half water and eat what I can at the water table  

Don't forget the gel that you need to suck on after getting dropped to get home 🙂 

['Kaze Pete]

On 7/17/2025 at 2:07 PM, Mike Dewing said:

I like this.. a proper dry run may be in order 🤔

Do not do dry runs of anything (sleep, training, leg tests, nutrition) less than a month before the time, definitely not two weeks or less before the time

['Kaze Pete]

For nutrition, your training / race day needs are simple carbs (sugars) and electrolytes (salts).

Sometimes during training I cheap out and use a mix of:

• normal white sugar (it contains glucose and fructose in near equal measures)
• sea salt

Fructose becomes more important

• when you go for a high sugar load (> 90g/hour),
• or to help if your stomach struggles with high sugar loads as it gets absorbed via a different energy pathway.

Remember to consistently train your gut on whatever race mix you plan to use for race day!

The few days before race day:

• Eat well, and (for me) back off the high fibre loads and fatty stuff.
• Take electrolyte mix (I use Rehydrate Sport and Slowmag fizzy)

PS:

• There is an app called  "Saturday: Pro Fuel & Hydration" which can provide guidance on how much nutrition (sugar) you need 
• If you want to DIY your electrolyte mix LMNT published some recipes: https://science.drinklmnt.com/electrolytes/best-homemade-electrolyte-drink-for-dehydration

 

[buckstopper]

Your raceway prep starts when you commit to doing the race. You can't swat for an exam on the morning and hope to get a good mark. You have 17 weeks to raceday.  I don't know what training you're doing, but you should be doing about 3-5 rides a week to do a semi-decent 947. (You gave your age and weight, and if you're healthy and on this forum you probably want to improve on your 4h19. To what? A sub 3h30? For this time (energy required, or how much you can burn at your power output) and your weight, 70g/hour is a lot. If, by the beginning of Nov you can do 75km in 3-3½ hours on a road bike, you will know what you need for energy on race day, (just add a bit). And you don't have to spend megabucks. I make my own juice and gels using mainly a mix of maltodextrin and fructose. Bought online. You can add flavouring for colour even. 4kg of carbs for about R400. Or even just sugar and water will do the job. Cheap. 3 bottles (1 behind your saddle) mixed 10% (80g carbs per 800g bottle) will give you about 240g nett carbs. 60 per hour.  Plenty for you. But if you train and do a big ride every weekend you'll know come hoopla day.  If you're good for a sub 2h45, it's another story, but even then at your weight 2 bottles at 10% and a couple bananas will see you home.

[Underachiever]

14 hours ago, jcza said:

Don't forget the gel that you need to suck on after getting dropped to get home 🙂 

The slice of humble pie that I carry has 60g carbs....

[Guest Mike Dewing]

1 hour ago, buckstopper said:

Your raceway prep starts when you commit to doing the race. You can't swat for an exam on the morning and hope to get a good mark. You have 17 weeks to raceday.  I don't know what training you're doing, but you should be doing about 3-5 rides a week to do a semi-decent 947. (You gave your age and weight, and if you're healthy and on this forum you probably want to improve on your 4h19. To what? A sub 3h30? For this time (energy required, or how much you can burn at your power output) and your weight, 70g/hour is a lot. If, by the beginning of Nov you can do 75km in 3-3½ hours on a road bike, you will know what you need for energy on race day, (just add a bit). And you don't have to spend megabucks. I make my own juice and gels using mainly a mix of maltodextrin and fructose. Bought online. You can add flavouring for colour even. 4kg of carbs for about R400. Or even just sugar and water will do the job. Cheap. 3 bottles (1 behind your saddle) mixed 10% (80g carbs per 800g bottle) will give you about 240g nett carbs. 60 per hour.  Plenty for you. But if you train and do a big ride every weekend you'll know come hoopla day.  If you're good for a sub 2h45, it's another story, but even then at your weight 2 bottles at 10% and a couple bananas will see you home.

I’m roughly thinking 3:30 would be awesome.. did Montecassino Classico in 3:29 last year.. 

my training is three or four rides a week.. with life I can’t manage more than that and some are not at the intended high effort because, life makes me tired.. 🤷🏼‍♂️🤣
 

*if I have a threshold intervals training and I’m too tired I just do another zone two or just whatever I can manage during that time🤘🏻but I put the time in

Edited July 23, 2025 by Mike Dewing

[Cardiogoth]

On 7/19/2025 at 12:16 PM, Mike Dewing said:

Lads.. how does this sound.? 

I am a 40 year old 65kg 177cm tall he/him
 

32Gi food list(consumed per hour)

- 1 x cranberry almond race pro bar @25g(20.4g Carbs)

- 1 x Sports chew jelly bar @ 50g(33g carbs)

- 1 x sports gel @27g(21g carbs)

= 74g of carbs consumed.. half way between that 60 and 90🥳.. 

32Gi drink list(supplementary carbs)

2 x 600ml bottles

- 2 x race pro super carp sachets(60g of carbs per sachet (one sachets per bottle)(should I carry two extras in case I fill up.?)

I feel like I’m going to be carrying a ton.!

Will start here and play around with what I can handle and train to eat before the big day, don’t worry.. 

any input welcome.? 

74g of carbs per hour is plenty - and enough to cause GI distress if you haven't trained your gut. If you have enough time before the race, work on training your gut and experiment with different brands / carb sources.

Once you've figured out what works for you, stick to that. Don't experiment on race day. Don't under-fuel because you feel OK in the moment. Don't eat from aid station tables unless you run out of fuel. It's way too easy to see a bowl of Haribos and smash a handful with a litre of Pepsi, only to realise half an hour later that you've made a mistake (I say this from personal experience )   

One thing that I would add is electrolytes. They'll definitely help to reduce chances of cramping. If your drink mix doesn't have them, then consider adding an electrolyte tab every hour. I'd also agree with having one bottle of drink mix and one of plain water. If you need to cool down, you really don't want to be spraying yourself with drink mix.

[jcza]

You're overthinking this. Learn how to ride in a bunch and you'll get half the race for free and get to Kyalami with minimum effort. 

[Guest Mike Dewing]

4 hours ago, jcza said:

You're overthinking this. Learn how to ride in a bunch and you'll get half the race for free and get to Kyalami with minimum effort. 

No I don’t play well with others.. I do one very chilled group ride with my local but otherwise I cycle under my own power only.. 

was devastated when I found out cycling is a team sport😭 

[W@nted]

7 minutes ago, Mike Dewing said:

No I don’t play well with others.. I do one very chilled group ride with my local but otherwise I cycle under my own power only.. 

was devastated when I found out cycling is a team sport😭 

The secret to a great time (literally and figuratively) in any road race is riding in a fast bunch...

[The Ouzo]

30 minutes ago, Mike Dewing said:

No I don’t play well with others.. I do one very chilled group ride with my local but otherwise I cycle under my own power only.. 

was devastated when I found out cycling is a team sport😭 

Mike, as someone that ALWAYS trained solo, bunch riding confidence and skill is something thats been hard to learn, but makes a big difference with race times.

When I was young and brave (or dumb, the debate still continues), I could sit in the middle of massive bunches and cruise along at stupid speeds. 1 fall many many years ago in a bunch and that was the end of that. Only ever riding in bunches in races had me sitting on the outskirts or the back working much harder than I should.

When I joined my cycling group beginning of last year it took me a long time to get the confidence in the bunch, those first group rides were hell to try and stay with the bunch. As I slowly got more confident it got easier.

Then the groups got faster, the crashes became more frequent, my confidence took a know and I found myself suffering again. And then I crashed, and now I'm on the outskirts or at the back again working my ass off to stay with them, those days that I have confidence and I correctly position myself in the bunch I can feel are much much easier.

 

I still feel solo rides are great. They are great to clear your head, they are great to ride are your own pace, and with nobody to hide behind they are great to build fitness and strength.

[buckstopper]

In SA cycling, road racing 'in teams' is a team sport in half the elite bunch and maybe 10-20% of the Vets groups. If you're afraid of bunches, ride in a small group of 3 or 4 and do a team tt for fun. 

Or ride alone. In which case you don't need to be doing 'tiring' intervals, at least not now. Just get used to riding the distance and maybe seek out some hills in October and you'll be fine