Is a low-carb training diet really the best for cycling performance? With some new research, we could see the end of fasted training for pro endurance athletes. Si and Dan debate restricting carbohydrates for exercise and explore the science behind cycling nutrition. In cycling shorts, we interviewed ex-pro cyclist Richie Porte and dive into the story of one man and his 10,000-day cycling streak!
Check out the research paper 👉 https://gcn.eu/PeriodizedCarbohydrateDiet
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00:00 Intro
02:46 Low-carb diets have no place in cycling
07:18 Richie Porte interview
11:16 Cycling shorts
14:26 Zwift 30 in 30 Challenge 👉 @Zwift
17:12 Hack/bodge
24:50 Caption competition
27:39 Comment of the week
35:13 Coming up on GCN
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Have you ever tried fasted training? 🥖
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34 Comments
Have you ever tried fasted training? 🥖
The new Jonathon NarvICE vest.
Regarding "The End of Fasted Training," after reading the referenced paper, there are a couple of points you should have mentioned: (a) how many people you know with a VO2Max of 70, with the inference that perhaps the study results do not apply to the general population, and (b) how long the body takes to adapt to fasted training from non-fasted training and vice versa, which is usually longer than the period of this experiment.
Froomie could eat few carbs because he was full of EPO like every cyclist that dominates Tour de France with low carb diet
As stat PhD, I'll just say that n=17 for a 2-way repeated ANOVA interaction is wonderfully underpowered (difficult to detect effect, if true). Unsurprising none found. Need at least n=60. Also, the fact that both groups were provided carbs for high-intensity tests? You'd muddle any effect you'd hope to find.
regarding low carbs……for me over the years i have learnt that your body will let you know how much & what type of food you need, which is down to experimenting what & when & how much your body is telling you, for me weather & intensity plays a big part as i find i am eating for tommorrow's ride,
I was doing my first interval session of 2024 while watching this GCN show. I swear, Simon's voice slows down during VO2 intervals.
"Low carb diets have no place in cycling…" (?) Really? That is total BS. I was surprised low carb and high carb showed no difference in performance. I would have agreed with you all that high carb would translate to higher performance in the world of PRO CYCLING. However, pro cyclists are a different breed than the rest of us. In order to compete at the highest levels you have to do things that are detrimental to your health, for example high carb diets are inflammatory and can result in insulin resistance, using PEDs, serious crashes, etc. As a pro cyclist you are willing to take that risk and perhaps in a fairly short career of 10-15 years, no permanent harm is done. But if I am a life long cyclist (not a pro racer) and I am eating high carb diet for 30 plus years, I would likely end up Type 2 diabetic or at least some level of insulin resistance regardless of my fitness level.
If the study found little difference in the 2 diet strategies, then I would be recommending the low carb option because in terms of health and longevity, that would be far superior than downing all those high carb gels and cakes and cookies, etc. So your premise that low carb diets have no place in cycling is totally wrong and should be corrected to add '…in pro cycling.'
I personally do not consume a high carb diet. I used to use all those gels during training and they just destroyed me. I would eventually bonk because I couldn't consume enough carb to prevent it. Now that I stay away from gels and just consume a well balanced low carb diet, I don't need gels to complete a long training session. I am 60+ years old, very low body fat, and moderately fit. I don't race and am not fast, more endurance focused.
That rear camera mudguard is stupid, it blocks visibility of the rear light. Most drivers look down at it. Daft
Camelback are a nit crap, aren't they?
No Pog introducing cycling shorts?
Caption competition: Jonathan, how are you ever going to properly carb load if you keep spilling all your ravioli?
Richie Porte – cycling's loveliest guy
@CaptionContest: Lower paid Ineos riders sell sperm samples during races to supplement their income.
I have been on a low-carb diet for 5 years and have been cycling for 4. I am encouraged that there was no significant difference. I have seen significant improvements as I have increased my cycling. Of course, I am not a pro. My choice of diet had nothing to do with cycling and still doesn't.
If your on the front in a group pedal when going downhill don’t coast. Everyone behind in the draft otherwise is forced to sit on their brakes and it bunches up the group.
Can we have GCN + back please
Yes I ride fasted virtually every time, have been for 3+ years. I even ride 100 miles fasted. It doesn't always work, so I carry food with me, but 3 out of 4 times I just don't eat, my body actuallly performs better riding fasted vs fed. My eating window is usually 4 hours per day, so have become quite efficient at fat burning.
"They call it the Tour Down Under, but it's still too far north for my taste."
@28.42. Slight slip off the tongue from Si?!?
Great question about fasting. I have a BSc in Kin and was an endurance junkie for most of my life. What I found key to fat utilization is to do a couple of morninghour long run or rides without anything but a small coffee. Caffiene releases fat reserves and as long as the effort was 1 or 2, my body learned how to pick fat first. Having low body fat, as endurance bodies do, I was able to tune my diesel engine. Just like sleep high, train low altitude training. I kept my diet at a 50/25/25 . Chosing healthy fats and protiens makes a big differnce. Thanks for the great show
Caption: “Temperature has to go Down Under, mate!!!”
#CaptionContest
I'm MELTING!
I wonder if any of the nutritionist in cycling thought about talking to type 2 diabetics. By balancing cycling and carb intake I have dispensed with the need for drugs, similarly balancing carb intake, high and low GI with energy output from training can be the only way to maximise a riders efficient use of foods.
#captioncompetition: Jhonatan plans for a great off-season with his girlfriend.
#captiocontest New UCI rule on travelling with mayonnaise restricts competitors to 16 individual sachets which must be worn as a chest protector.
Comment of the week:
The Swat team's change to a lycra outfit is starting to seem like a mis-step.
Can't stop the image in my head of GCN presenters asking like Gollum in the Hobbit "What has it got in its pocketses" to passing cyclists 😁
Eggs, avocado, and salmon on that plate – fat replaced the processed carbs.
I guess he Won the Pole?
Not sure Froome’s lunch was low carb if he had an energy gel for desert 🤷♂️
Low carb training does work, but not within 5 weeks. Train at least 6 months on low carb, and the benefits are amazing!
Could listen to Richie Porte talk all day – so calming!
Was I the only one rewinding 3 or 4 times to make sure he had replied “Lance” when asked who his hero was? 😂