I might be testing the limits of the topic here, but have any of you tried any of these (primarily/exclusively table sugar) solutions in ultra-endurance racing? What’s it like after a few days? Obviously there’s a nutritional need to still stop for solid meals, but I just mean in terms of keeping calories topped up as much as possible.
I’ve just been accepted into a self-supported ultra where we’ve also got to carry all our rubbish with us to the checkpoints rather than discarding it en-route. Should be about 3 days between checkpoints and a week and a half overall. It means I’m thinking not just about calorie density of what I carry (and can find at corner shops) but also about the bulk and biodegradability of packaging.
Coincidentally, I also just switched from SiS to table sugar + himalayan pink salt + lemon juice for my indoor training rides as a cost saving measure. May or may not add some malto as I settle in, but it sounds like it’s really not necessary unless pushing absolute absorbtion limits. Given that I’m already going to be training my gut on this stuff, it seems like it might be a pretty good option for supplementing solid food on the big ride - can be had anywhere and the only ingredient with any bulk comes in a paper bag.