10th
Alex Wild's scorecard
Crusher in the Tushar
Saturday 8th July, 2023
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
109g
Carb per hour
1,271mg
Sodium per hour
729ml
Fluid per hour
1,743mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
25mg
Total caffeine
How Alex hit those numbers
1 x Serving of pancakes
1 x Cup of Coffee
750ml x Water
500ml x Electrolyte drink (300mg sodium)
1 x Energy gel (30g carb)
3L x PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix (8 x Servings)
5 x Energy gel (30g carb)
1 x Liquid Energy Caffeine Gel (28g Carb, 25mg Caffeine)
1 x Electrolyte Shot (40mg Sodium)
How Alex's hydration and fueling went...
- After being ‘smashed’ by the brutal course in 2022, Alex took on the 2023 edition of Crusher in the Tushar with a more calculated pacing strategy to ensure he didn’t “go into the red” like the year prior
- As determined by a Sweat Test, Alex is a very “salty” sweater (he loses 2,211 milligrams of sodium per litre of sweat) which means he has to focus on his electrolyte intake when designing his race strategy
- Alex was pleased with how he executed his strategy and his overall result at Tushar, crossing the line in 10th. His time would have put him 2nd in 2022, and first in any other version of the event in years gone by
Hydration
- With breakfast, Alex drank ~750ml (24oz) of water and 500ml (16oz) of electrolyte drink with a relative sodium concentration of 600 mg/L (mg/32oz). Pre-race, we’d recommend something a bit stronger, such as the PH 1500 tablets, which would promote greater retention of water in the bloodstream and ensure he starts the race optimally hydrated
- During this hot race (22-28ºC / 72-82ºF) which lasted over four hours, Alex knew he would sweat a large volume of fluid, so needed to replace a good proportion of his losses to avoid any dehydration related performance decline
- To achieve this, he drank ~3L (96oz) of PF 60 Energy Drink Mix during the race, averaging ~729ml (24oz) of fluid per hour
- Importantly, Alex increased the concentration of this energy drink mix to achieve a relative sodium concentration slightly closer to his large individual sodium losses. Overall, he achieved a relative sodium concentration of ~1,743mg/L (mg/32oz) across this four hour race
- Alex did unfortunately experience some cramping in this race, which could well be related to electrolyte imbalance having not quite replaced enough of the sodium he was losing in his sweat, whilst the intense nature of the race means his cramps could have been caused by muscle fatigue. Either way, he thankfully, he managed to alleviate these cramps using a “sports shot” from The Feed and race hard to the finish (even ‘throwing’ his dropped chain back onto the cassette while in motion on the final descent)
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
30-60g
carb per hour during
- With a strong carb load for Tushar, finishing with several pancakes for breakfast, Alex arrived at the race venue with his stored carbohydrates well stocked. He then topped off his available blood glucose ~15 minutes before the race with a 30g carb gel
- Typically, Alex adopts an “as much as you can handle” approach to his race fueling strategy, and it was the same story again at Tushar, averaging ~109g of carb per hour via multiple gels & PF 60 Energy Drink Mix
- Alex did experience a slight energy fade during the race, but didn’t attribute it to his fueling strategy on the day. At 1,800m (5,900ft) elevation, the Tushar mountains are elevated enough from sea level for altitude to come into play physiologically
- One theory here is that the reduced partial pressure of oxygen at altitude means the body relies more heavily on carbohydrate utilisation over fat than at sea level. This is because carb requires less total oxygen to be converted into a useable format for muscle contraction
- Alex is a self proclaimed “numbers geek”, and brings this approach to his caffeine intake too. For Tushar, he brought his favourite brand instant coffee packets which provide 135mg of caffeine per serving
- He had two of these the morning of the race, and a gel containing 25mg of caffeine from the neutral support on course, bringing his daily intake up to ~295mg
- While there is a little bit of room to increase this intake during future races (by replacing the on course gel with a PF 30 Caffeine Gel for example), ~295mg does put someone of his size well within the scientific recommendation of 3-6 milligrams of caffeine per kilo of bodyweight for enhanced performance
Conclusions
- Alex was largely pleased with this race, “finally getting a good result” in a Lifetime Grand Prix gravel race, which he sees as a step in the right direction
- He says there’s some things to improve from a performance standpoint, but he can be confident that his fuel & hydration strategy is relatively dialled in, which is no mean feat for someone with such high sweat and sodium losses
Key info
Alex Wild
Male
Sweat sodium concentration
2,211mg/L
Sweat sodium classification
Very High
* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test
Result
Position
10th
Overall Time
4:11:35
Event information
Sport
Cycling
Discipline
Mountain bike
Event
Crusher in the Tushar
Location
Colorado, USA
Date
8th July, 2023
Website
Total Distance
112.5km / 69.9mi
Total Elevation
3,048m / 10,000ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Hot
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
22°C / 72°F
Max Temp
28°C / 82°F
Avg Temp
25°C / 77°F
Humidity
5%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
8/10
Hydration rating
10/10
I didn't feel like I needed any more hydration
Energy levels
8/10
I faded a little bit during this race, but I don't think it was down to nutrition
GI comfort
10/10
Cramping
Mild cramps that I could push through
Alex's Thoughts
Room for improvement but a good performance nonetheless
Alex's full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 455 | 5,315 | 3,050 | 25 | 1,743 |
| Per hour | 109 | 1,271 | 729 | 6 | |
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
There is an adequate level of accuracy in the data collected and the numbers reported. The athlete manages to recall what they ate and drank including most specifics (brands flavours quantities plausible estimations of volumes). However there are estimations made within the data which affect the overall confidence level in the data reported.