TT drinks

lloydy75

Forgot my drinks last night prior to 10 mile TT, just had a few mouthfuls of water, normally have a 500ml bottle of high5 caffeine in lead up to a race this time of year, yet still did a season best and close to course best, what do you boys reckon to loaded drinks? All my PBs been done with them

Rule74Please

the amount of caffeine in energy products released to the general public are of the placebo amount.

Doing a 10 you don't need to drink anyway

lloydy75

I never carry a drink on a 10 and rarely on a 25. I was on about pre race drinks and interested in other practices and experiences.

From my experience of racing for years I find it hard to believe that High5 drinks are just a placebo effect, I normally feel the wide awake effect long into the night! Without the drink I sleep normally after a race.

RoadMeridaBen

I think you are overthinking it, you dont need to be drinking that stuff to do a 10.
I only drink water and it doesnt do me any harm, drinking 500 ml in the build up would have me pissing every 5 mins :P

At the end of the day your only riding for 20 odd minutes lol

Rule74Please

lloydy75 wrote:

I never carry a drink on a 10 and rarely on a 25. I was on about pre race drinks and interested in other practices and experiences.

From my experience of racing for years I find it hard to believe that High5 drinks are just a placebo effect, I normally feel the wide awake effect long into the night! Without the drink I sleep normally after a race.

Placebo The versions for the Pro's contain 3 times as much and even if the limit for dope control still existed you could not fail it.

Swap your coffee to decaf - offer somebody a cup without telling them and watch them fall for the placebo affect. Happens every time

markos1963

I never bother with those types of drinks either before a TT or a long ride. I stick to squash as I find a lot of 'sport' drinks give me stomach cramps. If you have a reasonable diet then what you eat should be more than enough in your system for bot a 10 or a 25.

me-109

Water for me. I found that using cordial (squash) just made me phlegm up more and was not a clean taste in my mouth when 'going for it'. I also learned to avoid cereals the morning before a race as the milk also made me phelgm up more and sooner.

Once upon a time I experimented with isotonic drinks and the like, but I reckon there's most benefit in just having the water.

I doubt I've ever TT'ed with a bottle on the bike, though I might have done in a 50 - I'm going back a while on that score!

Jersey Boy

I just stick to squash before the race as no time to drink during the race anyway. Someone told me that if you are on a TT bike with an aero bottle that it is more aerodynamic with the empty bottle in place.

SBezza

markos1963 wrote:

If you have a reasonable diet then what you eat should be more than enough in your system for bot a 10 or a 25.

+1 to this, but don't underestimate the benefit of caffeine to racing, it has been proven to be an ergonomic aid, though you will need to take a fair amount, and probably alot more than 500ml of High5 Caffeine based drink. It is important to keep hydrated before racing, though this can be achieved by normal drink throughout the day for an afternoon/evening event. Morning events mean ideally you should drink something before the race, but I wouldn't down loads just before the race, you will only want to go for a pee at the last minute.

ShavenLegs

I never carry a bottle on any TTs of 25m or less. It's not necessary if you're properly hydrated before hand. The weight makes no real difference, but I find it more of a distraction having to shift position to take a drink and losing a bit of rhythm for a few moments.

simon_e

ShavenLegs wrote:

I never carry a bottle on any TTs of 25m or less. It's not necessary if you're properly hydrated before hand. The weight makes no real difference, but I find it more of a distraction having to shift position to take a drink and losing a bit of rhythm for a few moments.

Ditto to this and markos1963. I think some people needlessly overhydrate before (and sometimes during) events thanks to slavishly following manufacturers' recommendations.

If you have time to take a drink in a 10 then you're not trying hard enough.

@SBezza, I think you meant ergogenic aid

SBezza

Simon E wrote:

ShavenLegs wrote:

.
@SBezza, I think you meant ergogenic aid

LOL yes, serves me right for trying to reply in a hurry.