Our guide to

Long distance cycling nutrition

Once you have built up to distances 50 - 100 km or more, you will need to learn how to fuel and drink on the bike.

Our guide has been created with Anita Bean, sports nutrition expert

What, how much and when you eat and drink during your ride can make a big difference to your energy levels and endurance. Carbohydrate is a particularly important fuel for cycling, helping sustain your energy levels and stave off fatigue. Hydration is another key part of your cycling performance – failure to drink enough can lead to early fatigue and heat-related illness. Here’s how to plan your cycling nutrition for long-distance rides.

What we'll cover:

  1. Training rides
  2. 2-3 days before the ride
  3. The day before the ride
  4. The morning of the ride
  5. 15-30 minutes before the start
  6. During the ride
  7. After the ride
  8. Perple Endurance Mixes

Training rides: early preparation

Longer distances require more fuel. If you haven’t previously on the bike, then you will need to get accustomed to consuming food and drink while cycling. Alternatively, if time isn’t an issue, then you can plan regular fuelling stops.

Cycling nutrition is very individual and you may find that certain foods, products and drink agree with you more than others. The difficulty is knowing the right carbs to choose. Fruits and juices have too much Fructose. Nuts are high in lignin and gels are high in maltodextrin. All of which can cause stomach problems. Balancing the right carbs is critical. Perple Endurance Mixes take care of all of this for you.

Practice makes perfect

If you are training for a long race, you’ll need to practice your fuelling and hydration plan. Aim to do two or three long rides using the same fuelling schedule you plan to use on the day. Adding a few early morning rides into your training schedule can also help you prepare for race day.

Made for endurance cycling

Perple Endurance Mix is for sport and exercise, lasting for multiple hours.

Our unique combination of fast and slow-release carbs, balanced electrolytes, and vegan BCAAs work together to sustain endurance, enhance hydration, boost cognitive performance, metabolise fats faster, and reduce muscle damage.

Endorsed by 4x F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel, developed at the University of Oxford, tested by Informed Sport. Vegan friendly & gluten free.

Discover Perple Endurance Mixes

In the days leading up to the event

The key is to start your ride with full stores of glycogen (carbohydrate). This will help you maintain your pace for longer before hitting fatigue. If you don’t have enough carbohydrate available, your power output, ability to climb hills and likelihood of finishing the ride all go down. To ensure your glycogen stores are fully stocked, aim to consume 6 - 10g of carbohydrate/ kg of body weight/ day for 1 – 2 days before a long ride or race.

The day before the race

You’ll need to increase your intake of carbohydrate the day before your ride. Have bigger-than-normal portions of potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, pasta, oats and bananas at mealtimes. If you are prone to gut issues during long rides, then cut down on fibre the day before. For example, switch to white pasta, rice and bread instead of wholegrain versions. Avoid consuming anything new in case it causes digestive issues and jeopardises your performance. 

What to eat on the morning of the ride

When to eat
Aim to have your breakfast 2 – 4 hours before you start riding. This will help top up liver glycogen and delay the onset of fatigue. Include carbohydrate-rich foods, such as porridge, muesli, granola, bagels or toast. 

Hydration
Pre-ride hydration is also important. Although this is difficult to assess, a quick and easy method is to check your urine — it should be a pale, straw-like colour. It is recommended to drink 5 – 10 ml per kg of body weight in the 4-hour period before exercise. That’s equivalent to 350 – 700ml for a 70kg cyclist.

What to eat 15 – 30 minutes before the start

If you have an early start and cannot face breakfast, then consuming 20 – 30 g carbs 15 – 30 minutes beforehand will raise blood sugar levels and provide fuel for the first part of the ride.

Many find it difficult to consume solids and so a Perple Sports Drink is a suitable alternative.

Nutrition for during the ride

Your body can only store enough glycogen for 45 minutes of intense cycling so you will need to supplement your energy stores on the bike. Begin refuelling from around 30 minutes into the ride, then continue to consume carbs every hour. The amount you need depends on how hard and long you’re riding.

  • 1 – 2 hour ride: 20 - 30g carbs/ hour
  • 2 – 3 hour ride (easy/ moderate): 20 - 60g carbs/ hour
  • 2 – 3 hour ride (hard): 60g carbs/ hour
  • 3 hour + ride (easy/ moderate): 60g carbs/ hour
  • 3 hour + ride (hard): 60g – 90 g carbs/ hour

Research suggests that 90g carbs/ hour may be optimal for top endurance athletes doing serious sessions – but not recreational cyclists who have lower rate of power output. You would need to train your gut over several weeks to absorb and process 90g/ h. The theory is, it’s possible to consume 60g glucose alongside 30g fructose per hour, since the two different sugars are absorbed via different transporters.

If you want to measure carbs and water, precisely to your times and needs, then Perple Endurance Mix is a great option. See the usage mixing guidelines.

Consuming the wrong carbs in the wrong measures, and without the right amount of water, can quickly lead to gut issues such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Post-ride nutrition: optimal recovery

Refuel with carbohydrate to replenish your glycogen stores and prepare your body for your next ride. Research suggests an intake of 1 – 1.2g of carbohydrate per kg body weight/ hour is the optimal intake for rapid refuelling. Include 20 – 30g of protein in your post-ride meal or snack – protein is important for repairing muscle damage and aiding recovery.

Snack options include:

  • milk-based drinks,
  • recovery drinks,
  • yoghurt,
  • protein bars,
  • flapjacks
  • and bananas.

Eat a balanced meal one to two hours later, which should include carbs and protein as well as vitamins and antioxidants.

Options include:

  • rice and chicken,
  • sweet potatoes with cheese or hummus.
  • Don’t forget to add some veg, fruit or salad – their high antioxidant content will promote recovery and reduce exercise-induced inflammation.  

Fuelling before, during and after your ride is critical for performance and recovery.

Fasted riding

Where no food is consumed before or during exercise, is a popular trend among long-distance cyclists. The theory is that reducing carbohydrate availability will force the body to burn more fat. However, if you are under-fuelled you will need to reduce the intensity of your cycling and will struggle to do high-intensity efforts, such as hard climbs and sprints. Chronic under-fuelling puts stress on the body, impacts the immune system, disrupts hormonal balance and can affect bone health.

What are you putting in your body?

Why you should switch to Perple’s Endurance Mix

Perple was born out of a need for change. To offer an alternative to Sports Drinks, Energy Gels & Energy Drink Powders that are full of synthetic, ultra-processed & chemical ingredients. Much of which, it turns out, simply aren’t good for us and can lessen performance.

"I'd recommend Perple to anyone looking for better performance in training and races." – Joe Truman, Team GB cyclist , World medalist & 2024 Olympian

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Cycling nutrition

Made for cyclists

Perple Endurance Mix is for sport and exercise, lasting for multiple hours.

Endorsed by 4x F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel, developed at the University of Oxford, tested by Informed Sport. Vegan friendly & gluten free.

Discover Perple Endurance Mixes

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