Supplements for competitive cycling

Let’s discover supplements for athletes, a valid help for those who practice cycling at a competitive level

Are you a professional and looking for a highly digestible product to recharge your energy during the race? Do you want to increase your training resistance to reach your goals and overcome your limits? In this article we will talk to you about supplements for competitive cycling, to understand which nutrients to focus on to improve performance.

Whether on the track or on mountain terrain, cycling at a competitive level puts a strain on the body and mind of the athletes who find themselves alone pedaling for hours and must be able to maintain the right level of strength in their legs and mental concentration . Sports supplements can be a valid ally to regain the energy and clarity that may be missing during the journey.

Sports at a competitive level

Those who practice endurance sports at a competitive level know well that correct integration, combined with good nutrition, hard training, great passion and extreme clarity, allow you to achieve better performance.

The nutritional needs of a cyclist during a race or intensity training can be around 400-800 kcal per hour of pedaling (in a person weighing around 70 kg). The body must, therefore, be accustomed to effort and must be able to count on the correct integration of specific nutrients at the moment in which it is most needed, before the activity to stock up on energy, but also during short interludes of a race.

Hydration is the first fundamental ally during sporting activity to compensate for the loss of fluids through sweating. It is therefore very important to drink, often and in small sips: a low intake of liquids can lead to dehydration and cramps, ruining your ride.

Many athletes, however, are particularly sensitive to the stomach when under stress, competitive cycling supplements must therefore guarantee excellent assimilation without forcing the athlete to take in too much water.

Supplements for competitive cycling: the most important nutrients

Carbohydrates are the main source of fuel for the body during high-intensity exercise. During performance it is good to consume from 30 to 90 grams of carbohydrates per hour to maintain constant performance and counteract physical and mental tiredness, without however weighing down the stomach. Sports supplements are a pure energy source, they do not provide any other nutrients other than those essential for physical effort and are therefore easily digestible.

Let’s see specifically which nutrients to focus on:

• Maltodextrin, carbohydrate mixtures more or less complex, capable of providing immediate energy, preventing the onset of fatigue and prolonging the ability to endure.
• Highly branched cyclodextrins, a slow-release energy source, help support energy performance and rehydration during sporting activity.
• Fructose 1,6-diphosphate, the “activated” version of glucose, the last step before it can be transformed into muscle energy, rapidly metabolised and highly energetic.
• Caffeine, a stimulant capable of increasing attention levels, increasing blood flow to the muscles and raising adrenaline levels.
• L-Arginine, amino acid capable of improving muscle oxygenation, improving vasodilation and resistance.
• Carnitine capable of accelerating the metabolism of lipids and therefore producing energy.

Sprintade: 100% Made in Italy integration

The Sprintade product line was born from the desire to support athletes, at a competitive or amateur level, with an intake of specific nutrients for each situation, guaranteeing greater availability of energy even in the long term. Designed to be easy to transport and use, with innovative and compact formats such as vials, gels and chewable gums, they are the result of long research processes to find the right combinations of nutrients, all quickly assimilable and essential for the athlete.

Among the supplements for competitive cycling, Sprintade offers:

• COMPLETE ENERGY, a supplement in liquid form useful for combating physical tiredness and mental with tonic and stimulating effect.
• ENERGY GUM, a supplement in the form of chewable gum capable of responding to tiredness and to improve resistance.
• ATP BOOSTER, a supplement in liquid form designed to provide immediate energy and to promote the metabolic processes that make the energy available to the muscles.
• ISOTONIC GEL, isotonic gel based on maltodextrins and complex carbohydrates to provide energy in a progressive way