Skip to main content

Carbohydrates before A Ride: Pedal Longer . . .

Despite the recent campaign being waged against carbohydrates, research continues to demonstrate the performance benefits of a high carbohydrate diet. Most recently, researchers from the Sport Science Institute of South Africa tested the effects of a high carbohydrate meal on cycling endurance. On one occasion subjects received a breakfast containing 100 grams of carbohydrates three hours before cycling to exhaustion at an intensity equivalent to 70% maximal oxygen uptake. On another occasion the subjects performed the cycling in the morning following an overnight fast. It was found that the cyclists could sustain the cycling ride approximately 27 minutes longer following a carbohydrate breakfast than they could after an overnight fast. This difference was statistically significant.