Cyclocross Nationals are here... Is your Nutrition Dialed?

Nutrition is essential to racing cyclocross; you must have proper fuel in order to go fast. Still, I’ve never sworn by any nutrition company... I just try to eat real food that tastes good and makes me perform well on the bike. For years I have tinkered with pre-race meals, drink mixes and the timing of my consumption. Cyclocross in particular is such a short and hard effort that it’s easy to eat/drink too much prior to the start. The way I look at it is; I want to have enough fuel to get me through the last lap, but nothing left in the tank! 

This season I've been really impressed by my body’s reaction to Enduro Bites, a small company based in Colorado Springs. I met the owner at Sea Otter and, long story short, my wife got a job as a demo representative. Needless to say, this worked out in my favor because I've gotten to sample all their products! The Dark Chocolate Espresso Enduro Bitesand the Beta Red Pre Race Drink Formula are my “Go To” race day nutritional products. The delicious fig based, all natural bar has changed my race day routine for the better.

For best results, enjoy one bite (100 calories) with a cup of coffee about 2 hours before your next cyclocross race. Then, 1 hour before the start, drink a bottle of Beta Red and eat another bite of your favorite flavored Enduro Bites bar. I typically mix up 1.5 scoops in about 16oz of water and make sure it’s down the hatch 30 minutes before my race. 

I sincerely hope my competitors don’t read this! Seriously, I used to fade super hard towards the end of a 1 hour cross effort. Now, in my final laps I've been able to launch attacks and even sprint to the finish. Before I found Enduro Bites and Beta Red I would literally be in survival mode by the end of my race… those days are done. I won’t start another cyclocross race unless I have my espresso Enduro Bites and Beta Red!