Cycling nutrition: what to eat on a long ride

On a one-hour ride, food barely matters. Past two hours it becomes part of the route planning, just like the climbing: it decides whether you get home still sharp, or whether you survive the last twenty kilometres. Here are simple numbers to start from, then adjust to your build and experience.

Bonking is not inevitable

Your muscles and liver store roughly 400 to 500 g of glycogen, about 1,500 to 2,000 kcal. At a steady endurance pace, that tank lasts somewhere between 1 h 30 and 2 h 30. When it empties without being topped up, you bonk: legs like cotton wool, empty head, morale gone. The only reliable cure is taken beforehand, in small regular amounts.

Before you leave: carbs two to three hours ahead

The pre-ride meal is there to fill the tank, not to be a feast. Aim for easily digested carbohydrate: porridge, bread, rice, pasta, fruit purée, with a little protein. Go easy on very fatty and very high-fibre food, which slows digestion and comes back to haunt you on the first climb. Leaving at dawn? A light snack 30 minutes before, a banana or bread and honey, beats a big meal swallowed in a hurry.

On the bike: 30 to 60 g of carbohydrate per hour

This is the number that matters. From the first hour onwards, eat regularly, before you feel hungry. In practice, 30 to 60 g of carbs per hour looks like this:

• 1 ripe banana: around 25 g
• 1 cereal bar: 20 to 25 g
• 1 energy gel: 20 to 25 g
• 3 to 4 fruit jellies: around 20 g
• 500 ml of a 4% energy drink: around 20 g

In other words: something solid every 30 to 45 minutes, plus your drink. On rides over three hours or at higher intensity, trained cyclists go up to 80 or 90 g per hour, but only with products combining glucose and fructose, and only after training the gut to handle those amounts.

Drink steadily, and add salt when it is hot

Count on 500 to 800 ml per hour in mild conditions, more in real heat. Take small sips every ten to fifteen minutes rather than downing a bottle at each stop. Beyond two hours in the heat, plain water is no longer enough: a drink containing sodium, or simply some salty food, replaces what sweat takes away and keeps cramp at bay.

Sweet early, savoury late

After three hours most cyclists cannot face anything sweet. Plan for it: keep a proper sandwich, a wrap, some cherry tomatoes, olives or crisps for the second half. The rule that works is solid early, liquid late: chewable food goes down well while the intensity is low, gels and drinks take over once fatigue sets in.

Put your refuel stops on the route, not down to luck

Long rides rarely fail on the legs, more often on logistics. In the VéloCore planner, switch on the points of interest along the route to spot drinking fountains, cafés, bakeries and shops, and note before you leave which kilometre marks the last realistic place to refuel. Use the elevation profile too: you eat before a long climb, never during it. Then save the route to your account: it shows up in the app cockpit with navigation, so you know what is coming while you ride. Full details on the features page.

Afterwards: the first hour counts double

The window right after the effort is the most efficient one for restocking. Around 1 g of carbohydrate per kilo of body weight, together with 20 to 25 g of protein, does the job. No powder required: a sandwich, a yoghurt and a piece of fruit are plenty. Keep drinking, with a little salt if the ride was hot.

Test it in training, never on the day

The gut trains like the legs do. Trying an unfamiliar product for the first time in a sportive is the surest way to discover it does not suit you, at the worst possible moment. After every long ride, note what you ate and how it felt: your ride history quickly becomes a logbook of what works for you.

These figures are aimed at healthy adult cyclists. If you have diabetes, take medication or follow a specific diet, ask a doctor or a sports dietitian for advice.

Read next: E-bike: getting the most from your battery · Planning a gravel bike route