Who eats what before a race

[gretaboy]

Ok to all the hotshot racers out there .... what do you consume the night before and on the day of a race.

I know everyone is different body wise and so forth...I also know race lengths vary...BUT...I would still like to hear what people eat to get themselves right for a race.

[george-bob]

For tris a blueberry bagel and a bottle of sports drink about 2 hours out then a caffeinated gel 15minutes before the gun.

[Pedaling]

I am still experimenting at the moment, as I have only raced a handful of times.
If I am racing in the morning, I normally have some fruit, what ever is in season.
Before my warm up, I have a couple of dates.
If I am racing in the afternoon, I have a big dinner the night before, and just graze through the day. I learnt during my first race (afternoon) not to over eat on the day of racing.
Although, what is worse, bonking or vomiting? Neither I suppose.
Looking forward to finding out what works for others.
Cheers,

Darrin.

[toolonglegs]

I have no races under 90 minutes ( except for 1 hour CX races )... always eat 3 hours before, too close and I get stomach cramps. Usually all races are in the afternoon so not difficult.
Usually breakfast ... big smoothie.
11.30 another big smoothie.
Then drink water till about 90 minutes before race and snack on fruit.
90 minutes before caffeine hit and start drinking sports mix...and snack on fruit.
Gel 15 miutes before the start.

I have no caffeine except before rides... for me it works in two ways... wakes me up and empties me out .

Before a cx race basically the same... except I don't have a bottle on my bike for a race ( gets in the way if you have to shoulder the bike ) ... lots of carbed up fluids.

[cerb]

Similar to TLL, I really only do short, high intensity races.

Night before - nothing special. Whatever is on offer - beer and wine included.
Morning (2-3hrs before) - Large bowl of museli and a banana.
Pre-race (30-45mins before) - Small coffee
Pre-race (<5mins) - Some form of energy boost with sugar and oats (like a bar) and about half a bottle of staminade

[Nikolai]

Eggs, cheese, bacon, chunks of butter (sometimes as is, without anything), meat leftovers (can't be bothered cooking in the morning), cottage cheese ... You get the idea. Very little carbs (whatever is found in food I eat). I never eat in races or on training rides unless I know I'll be burning some serious glycogen (eg climbing hard). I'm fully aware that for most people this is an usual eating habit for a cyclist, but then again, I find what most cyclist eat (or drink) is strange too

[toolonglegs]

Interesting diet before a race... You must eat it along time before riding?... I wouldn't think that all that fat would digest into energy in a big hurry.

[Nikolai]

I should've clarified - I don't eat differently before a race. Fat digests fine, slower than carbs obviously which is one reason I have no need for bars, gels etc.

[filip]

When there is a crit with 8am start and i have to roll out of bed at 6 to get there in time, i’ll eat a nutella or jam sandwich, and up+go or energize 350ml. If i have a banana, i’ll consume that as well. That keeps me going.

A crit at 6pm – i’ll eat sandwiches around 2pm, with at least 1 or 2 with jam or nutella, with coffee flavoured milk. Have some more coffee flavoured milk around 5.

During the crit - i don’t drink anything if it’s less than 50 minutes, or just a bit of water.