Originally Posted by
Jughed
-High intensity levels require carb supplements. I find 30-40 grams per hour cover my needs.
-High intensity training sessions - 3x10 or 2x20 FTP intervals, 4x3 VO2 max internals - you need carbs. I will add a few hundred carbs the on the days of my high intensity workouts.
This is the bottom line if performance is on your agenda. As an experiment the other day I did a relatively long, unfuelled (water only) ride in Zwift (2 hours) and then hit the Alpe at the end. I felt totally fine until I got halfway up the Alpe and then I suddenly lost all my top end power. Where I would normally be holding a steady 250W and putting in 280W efforts on the steeper ramps, I was suddenly struggling to hold 200W and felt flat as a pancake. Normally I would fuel a ride like that with at least 1 energy bar or carb bottle and a couple of gels for good measure. I didn’t actually go as far as bonking, but my power was certainly limited after 2 hours riding fairly hard without carbs.