nutrition

Hydration for cyclists: how much do we really need to drink?

April 1, 2014

Summer might be finished here in Australia but staying hydrated on the bike is as important as ever. In fact, for years we’ve been bombarded with messages about hydration and performance – “lose more than 2% of your body weight and your performance will decline by x%”, or words to this effect. It’s become burnt […]

Caffeine and cycling: social accessory or performance enhancer?

November 20, 2013

The café is a social highlight of many a bunch ride. Very few cyclists don’t like coffee, and even fewer will publicly admit it to their mates. But what effect does all that caffeine have on your cycling performance? As well as coffee we’ve got access to Coke, caffeinated gels, sports drinks, tablets and energy […]

High-fat, low-carb diets: good for you and your cycling?

August 20, 2013

For decades the use of carbohydrate in a cyclist’s diet has been a given. We know from research findings that carbohydrate is necessary for improving both high intensity and endurance performance. But recently this theory has been challenged by a number of endurance athletes and researchers. In this first part of a two-part series, Joe […]

DIY Sports Nutrition

May 15, 2013

When you’re heading out for a ride it’s easy to grab a couple of bars or gels and shove them in your jersey pockets. They’re convenient and perfectly packaged for easy consumption when you’re enjoying your ride. But for a variety of reasons there’s a number of cyclists who’d prefer to make their own sports […]

Beetroot juice: good science or great marketing hype?

April 10, 2013

No doubt you’ve seen, heard of or tried beetroot juice as a sports supplement. It’s been around for a few years now. Mark Cavendish coined the hashtag #pissingrainbow to describe the effect it had on his urine (it goes an orangey-pink colour, which is normal and harmless). Like many supplements before it, beetroot juice has […]

Sports nutrition supplements :: untangling the science and the hype

April 3, 2013

For as long as competitive cycling has been around, riders have been looking for ways to improve their performance, to gain an edge over their competitors. One popular method is the use of sports nutrition supplements. In this first part of a two-part series, sports nutritionist Alan McCubbin takes us through the life-cycle of sports […]

Periodised Nutrition – Why Timing is Everything

November 8, 2012

With the majority of big events over for 2012, it’s time to start thinking about next year’s goals. Many cyclists will be starting to think about the races and events they plan to target, sitting down with their coaches and working out their training plans for 2013.

Five Sports Nutrition Myths

August 20, 2012

Cycling is filled with many wives tales and there’s no shortage of inaccurate nutritional advice that’s been spread over the decades. In this post Alan McCubbin (Next Level Nutrition) dispels some of those myths by looking at the research.

Grand Tour Nutrition

May 25, 2012

With the Giro in full swing and Le Tour on the horizon, I thought I’d take a different path for this nutrition post. It’s one thing preparing your nutrition plan for a single day race. It’s tougher for a week-long stage race. But nutrition for the grand tours is something else. Optimising performance and recovery, […]

Protein For Cyclists

April 24, 2012

We’ve all be taught that protein is important for recovery when training but there are lots of questions surrounding how much, when, and what type to take after a ride. In this article our nutritional expert Alan McCubbin talks about protein for cyclists answers all these questions with the research that’s out there.