MTB Race Week Nutrition Done Right

Oct 20, 2022
Welcome to the first article in our nutrition series with Marzia Bell from Life + Performance Nutrition. We’re kicking things off with a look at the week before an event with some nutritional guidelines to help you perform well on the day in your MTB discipline of choice.
The right fuelling can make the difference between smashing it all the way to the finish line or hitting the wall ¾ of the way into your race and stumbling your way home.
Just like all races are not created equal, race week preparations will vary depending on the competition level, what your target races are, and your overall plan for the season.

Determining Factors for Race Week Preparations:

  • Mountain Biking Discipline

  • Race Duration

  • Level of Racing

  • Training Status 

It comes as no surprise that different disciplines require different fuelling strategies, as the length and intensity of your race dictates the type of fuel your body is using. What do I mean by that? Let me explain:

Basic Sports Physiology

The human body uses carbohydrates and fat for fuel during exercise. The relative contribution of each fuel source depends on the exercise intensity, duration and your level of training.
The higher the intensity, the more the body relies on carbohydrates and less on fat. The more you have trained while consuming carbohydrates, the more the body is used to oxidising (burning) carbohydrates during exercise. Likewise, if you regularly train while fasted, or do not consume carbohydrates during training, your body will become more efficient at using fat for fuel.
The tricky part of relying on fat for fuel is that to burn fat we need oxygen, and during high intensity exercise, we just don’t have enough oxygen available. Meaning, we can exercise without fuelling ourselves with carbohydrates, but either can’t reach our top speed or we can’t reach it after our stored glycogen runs out.

What is Glycogen?

Glycogen is how the body stores carbohydrates. The body-stored glycogen (carbohydrate) lasts for approximately 90 minutes of exercise. This could be less or more depending on the intensity of the exercise. Therefore, if your race is over 90 minutes, glycogen stores are something to consider

Preparation: 7 Days Before the Race

If you are tapering your training, taper your food intake in the first part of the week to match your energy expenditure; If you are only doing a couple of recovery rides, you won't need carbohydrates during those rides, and you might want to reduce your food intake throughout the day by cutting out the snacks and focusing on nutrient-dense food (protein, veg and complex carbohydrates) at mealtimes. Hunger is a good guide to food intake on a rest week.

4hr+ Events: XCO, XCM and 24hr

4 days before the race you may want to consider carbo loading to maximise your glycogen stores. Carbo loading doesn’t mean smashing a big plate of pasta the night before the race. Think more along the lines of 3 whole days of increased carbohydrate intake, finishing the day before the race (if the race is on Sunday, carbo load Wednesday, Thursday and Friday).

To Carbo Load:

  • Consume mostly carbohydrate rich foods

  • Choose the white variety to minimise fibre intake

  • Choose low fibre veggies

  • Limit your protein (meat, fish, eggs, chicken, legumes etc)

  • Limit fat intake (processed meats, nuts, avocado, oil etc)

Minimising your consumption of fibre, protein, and fat in the lead up to the event will leave you with less content in your gut on race day. You’ll feel lighter and more comfortable on the bike.

XCO and XCC

Short and sharp races do not require carbo loading. Making sure your 3 meals pre-race are carbohydrate rich (1/3 - 1/2 of your plate) will help top up your glycogen stores. If you tend to get gut issues on race day, going for low fibre (white variety and low fibre veg) and low fat the 2-3 days before the race can help.

Enduro

Although Enduro is typically 4-6 hours of racing, the varied intensity requires a different fuelling strategy than the continuous endurance effort of something like a marathon. The advise provided for XCO and XCC is a better match. The untimed transfer stages are generally at a lower intensity than in an XC race, and there is more time to recover between the timed stages. This means that carbo loading is not going to provide the performance advantage you are looking for.

Downhill

Downhill racing, although performed at a high intensity, is short and sharp and does not benefit from carbo loading, especially if you consider the waiting times. Just continue with your normal nutrition, choosing familiar, well tolerated foods/meals.

The Day Before the Race

The day before race day you want to eat normally, choosing easy to digest foods that you know sit well in your gut. Avoid new foods/dishes, fatty meals (curries, fried food, most takeaways) and spicy foods. An upset stomach on race day isn't going to do you any favours.

The Day of the Race

Stay tuned for the race day action plan in the next article. Keep on reading as sleep and hydration play a big role in your race prep.

Sleep 

We all take sleep for granted. Getting some sleep is not the same as getting the right amount of good quality sleep. Optimising your sleep will maximise energy levels on race day and ensure your body is 100% ready to perform. We build muscle and recover in our sleep, meaning all that hard work you have done on the bike, and possibly in the gym, is actually being translated into on-the-bike performance while you sleep. The recommendations for adults are around 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night.

Tips on Getting Good Quality Sleep:

  • Stick to a regular bedtime and wake-up time (even on weekends)

  • No up-close screens (phone, iPad, gaming console etc) in the hour before bed

  • A bedtime routine to prepare the body for sleep (stretching, reading etc)

  • A hot bath or shower 90 mins before bedtime

  • Air temperature not too hot or cold (around 18 degrees is ideal)

  • Minimal light in the room


Hydration

About 60% of our body is water, but did you know that 73% of our brain, 83% of our lungs, and 95% of our blood are water? Where am I going with this?
Mountain biking is a high-intensity exercise requiring high lung capacity, increased blood flow to the muscle and sharp decision-making. If those organs are highly dependent on water, then ensuring hydration is going to be a priority. 
Even as little as a two percent reduction in your hydration level can impact your decision making; choosing your line, or judging the distance of a gap jump can be impacted if you are dehydrated.
Aim for 2-2.5L of water per day plus extra hydration on the bike, especially on race week. Just remember that alcohol can have a dehydrating effect, and coffee and tea have a diuretic effect. 

Try the above guidelines, but if feeling a little lost or in need of some personalised advice, you can work with Marzia one on one from anywhere. Marzia has helped many riders perform at their best by optimising their fuelling, and offers video consultations to riders of all levels.
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Meet Marzia

Marzia Bell is an Accredited Sports Dietitian and the founder of Life + Performance Nutrition. Marzia is a passionate outdoor sports enthusiast, giving all things trail and mountain a go.

Life + Performance Nutrition helps athletes and weekend legends nationwide perform at their best by fine tuning everyday, training and race day nutrition with personalised strategies that work.

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