The recently published UCI Sports Nutrition Project paper on road cycling provides one of the most comprehensive overviews to date of race nutrition in professional road cycling (1)(CLICK HERE). It was a privilege to bring together a group of scientists and practitioners working directly with WorldTour teams, to write a scientific paper and describe evolution or revolution of nutrition in this sport that is leading the way in applied sports nutrition. This paper aimed not to

Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) is gaining attention as a tool for optimising dietary counselling in athletes. By providing real-time glucose data, CGMs offer the potential to enhance our understanding of how athletes’ bodies respond to training, recovery, and nutrition. In our study, published in the European Journal of Sport Science, we investigated the use of CGMs in Para athletes to explore their potential applications and limitations. New study on CGM in Para cyclist

One of the most researched supplements on the market is creatine. Creatine combined with strength training has been shown to consistently help individuals gain more muscle mass, strength, power, and muscle function across the lifespan (from adolescents to older adults). The effects on endurance performance are much less studied, but there is a growing body of evidence that creatine can benefit endurance athletes in critical race situations such as finishing kicks or breakaway

Ketone ester supplements continue to receive attention from athletes for their claimed potential to enhance endurance exercise performance. The basis of this interest stems from being able to drink this supplement and quickly induce ketosis (high blood levels of ketone bodies) without the need to restrict dietary carbohydrate (for example, adhering to a ketogenic diet). It is becoming increasingly clear that ketone supplements influence exercise responses, however scientists

There are countless times I have watched sports on TV and commentators provide their insights on the regulation of fuel use. “And then you switch to fat metabolism” is one of the commonly heard catch phrases. Last weekend this happened again when I was watching cycling. But it is a myth that we have a switch that allows us to select different fuels. How does it work? Please pass this one on to TV commentators. Energy for muscle contraction When we exercise the muscle contract

In 2003, we discovered that certain combinations of carbohydrate could be absorbed faster in a sports setting. Before this discovery it was believed that the maximal amount of carbohydrate that could be delivered to the muscle was around 60 grams per hour (or 240kcal per hour). With energy expenditures over 1000 kcal/h in some endurance sports it was speculated that delivering more carbohydrate would help performance. This blog outlines the science behind carbohydrate ratios

Wouldn’t it be great to have a tool that measures how much fuel is left in your tank, just like a car has a fuel gauge? This would allow you to make sure the tank is full at the start and you can top it up before it runs out. Maybe there even is an optimal fuel level for performance? In the previous blog, we discussed CGM (Continuous glucose monitoring) sensors that have now become available to many athletes. Could CGM be the fuel gauge athletes have been waiting for? What C

Sodium bicarbonate is a household product commonly known as baking soda that many may be familiar with. What some may not know is that...

One year ago, a very good friend and respected colleague passed away, way too young. Kevin Tipton was loved by many and had a great impact on the field of sports nutrition, especially in the field of protein metabolism. To commemorate the life and the scientific achievements of Kevin, I will make sure a blog goes out every year that highlights some of his research. This time I have picked a popular question that gets asked very often: Do I need to take protein with my carbohy

There is accumulating evidence to suggest that most elite cyclists have lower bone mineral density values compared with non-elite cyclists.

An interesting review (1) was published recently re-igniting the discussion whether women will ever outperform men in ultra-endurance events. Males tend to outperform females in a number of sports. For example in the marathon the difference is around 10%. However, this difference is much smaller in ultra-endurance sports, such as in ultra-marathon (with a difference of 4%), or in extreme ultra endurance events where the difference is negligible. It appears that the longer the

More and more people with type 1 diabetes are active and there are now a number of individuals living with type 1 diabetes competing at...

Lactose is a sugar found in milk. Is this type of carbohydrate a good source ion energy during exercise? This blog looks at the results...

In new Spanish study appeared in the European Journal of Nutrition about the role of caffeine and fat burning (oxidation).

10 reasons why I think the nutrition strategy at JumboVisma is unique and successful.

The effect of contraceptive pills are used by female athletes may affect performance. Here the evidence is presented.

What are the effects of menstrual cycle on performance and how should athletes prepare for competition?

Are ketone esters really such a magical supplement?

The corona virus has changed the way many people exercise. Many cyclists and runners have resorted to Zwift for their training. Zwift...

Resynthesis of liver and muscle glycogen respond differently to different types of carbohydrate. This may have implications for performance.