XC pre-race fuel...mt dew?

for short 1.5hr mtb races, when i carry one bottle (80g carbs) and no hydro pack, ive been leaning on downing extra carbs pre-race, like 15min before the start. Usually thats a gel+caffine or something similar so i dont have to carry an extra bottle or when handups arent available.

One option i considered was pre-race flat mt dew. Its 16oz, 80g carbs + 91mg caffine…is there any reason that wouldnt be a good idea? I guess its HFCS instead of malto, but thats still 45/55 glu:fru so is it really a bad choice? it sure is convenient and cheap.

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Probably ok as long as the extra fluid doesn’t make you have to stop to pee during the race.

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There’s a reason why most (or at least good) aid stations will have Coke. It and your Mountain Dew aren’t completely optimized for sport, but they’ll get you 95% of the way there.

The other 5% is getting sugar ratios right for your stomach, or really high carb consumption rates, flavor preferences (an occasional soda is lovely but it would get nasty over a long event), or density.

And most importantly, delicious.

Pantani was all about that.

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I would just practice using it before an intense workout. My stomach can’t handle the acidity of coke/sodas during exercise, but am in the minority I suppose.

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Wow… 16oz is about the equivalent of the 500ml plastic bottles we get in Europe, yes?

I have an empty 500ml coke bottle next to me and it claims to contain 54g of sugars (210kcal). No caffeine info on the label but the Coke website claims around 48mg per 500ml.

Mountain Dew sounds like absolute rocket fuel (I shall have to try and find some in France…). But 16oz sounds like a lot of fluid to be taking in 15mins before a race start - I’d be busting for a pee at the top of the first climb.

The red bull sponsored athletes supposedly drink red bull before races, so why not mountain dew.

And a few others things…

Red bull is not carbonated and it has a higher caffeine-to-volume ratio, so you’re less likely to have to pee. If I slammed a mountain dew, first of all I’d teleport back to grade 10, and then would promptly have to pee every 15 minutes :joy:

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Pretty sure Red Bull is carbonated. Maybe not as much as Coke but does have some fizz.

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I just looked it up and it definitely is lightly carbonated. I’ve drank my fair share of RBs and can’t say I ever noticed it being carbonated! Now I know…

I don’t think anyone has accused on-bike nutrition of being healthy :joy:

Most red bull athletes are actually drinking water out of those red bull cans. Red bull gives out cans that look like the drink but its just water because drinking red bull before is actually isn’t great.

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I did a redbull one time before a crit, that was the only crit in my career where I felt drunk/tipsy during the race and had tunnel vision.

Its also the only race I have ever thrown up for and dropping off the pace at the 1/2 way point.

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I don’t think anyone has accused on-bike nutrition of being healthy :joy:

Healthy is all relative, because the body processes that soda very differently during/around a workout than in a sedentary population.

That soda will be converted to glycogen/short-term storage in the body which can be used as energy for activity, but then the excess will be converted to long-term storage and fats. In the absence of activity, the density of calories makes frequent soda consumption very unhealthy. Then the sports nutrition market isn’t going to admit their $3 per scoop sugar mix isn’t much different than a cheaper soda.

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Thats why I said “supposedly”. But I don’t know for sure, do you? I’m not familiar with any red bull athletes to be able to get an honest answer to that question.

So do you recommend it or not? :rofl:

I wouldn’t do it again no, but that might be a serious performance booster for someone else. I could not get my HR down is all I remember haha.

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I used MT Dew last year on a solo century that was more Z2 and it was great, not to mention tasting better than all the sports drinks/mixes I’ve ever tried. I’m not sure I’d want the carbonation during a high intensity effort but if it works for you, go for it.

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