Bryce Dyer's scorecard
King's Cup Gravel Championships
Saturday 24th September, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
- 92gCarb per hour
- 508mgSodium per hour
- 508mlFluid per hour
- 1,000mg/LRelative sodium concentration
- 1.18mg/kgCaffeine per bodyweight
How Bryce hit those numbers
Before race (>30mins)
1 x Serving of Rice
1 x Chicken Breast
4 x Salt and Vinegar Rice Cakes
1 x Malt Loaf
Pre-race (<30mins)
1 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
Race - During
1L x PF Energy Drink Mix
1 x PF 90 Gel
- Dr Bryce Dyer is a masters athlete with a self-professed emphasis on versatility and variety, Bryce has won medals in his age group at national championships in six different sports and gone on to compete at age-group world championships in a few of these. He currently competes as a cyclist in time trial, track and offroad events
- This time around, Bryce was competing in the King’s Cup National Gravel Championships, taking place in Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk
- Covering 61.2km in 01:58:52, Bryce came 22nd in his Masters age group, saying that the standard on display was higher than in previous years, resulting in big bunches of riders which changed the dynamics of the race
Hydration
- Bryce sensibly pre-loaded with electrolytes to ensure that he would start the race hydrated, with his blood plasma volume fully topped up
- After a test ride at race pace, Bryce decided that reaching for a bottle on rough terrain wasn’t optimal and so instead used a 1.5L/48oz hydration pack despite the aerodynamic drag associated with this
- In this pack he had 3 servings of PF Energy Drink Mix which provided him with 1000mg of sodium per full litre (32oz) of fluid to ensure he wasn’t dehydrated during the ride
- After drinking ⅔ of this, Bryce had an average fluid intake of ~508ml/16oz per hour, with a relative sodium concentration of exactly 1000mg/L. As someone with a Sweat Test score of 1167mg/L, this undoubtedly would have replaced a good proportion of his losses and contributed to him being able to report zero cramping throughout the race
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30gcarb 30 mins before
60-90gcarb per hour during
- Ahead of the race, Bryce carb loaded with meals including plenty of rice and an entire malt loaf. This meant that come start time, his glycogen stores were topped up and ready for action
- In the final 30 minutes he also had a PF 30 Caffeine Gel. This would have increased his blood glucose concentration - which in turn can have a sparing effect on intramuscular glycogen stores, meaning he had more metaphorical ‘fuel in the tank’
- The 100mg caffeine content of this gel also would have ensured he utilised the associated benefits, including alertness and the muscles’ ability to generate force
- The main sources of carbs then came in the form of 1L/32oz of PF Energy Drink Mix and one PF 90 Gel. Bryce mentioned that he chose the PF 90 Gel as they’re ‘so easy to handle at speed and pack for a race’. Although, the timing of his intake could potentially be improved for his next race, as he ‘necked the entire gel’ in one go on lap 2 of 4
- This meant that he had an average intake of ~92g carb per hour, which is above the general Quick Carb Calculator recommendation of 30-60g/h for an event of this length. However, we do often see pro athletes pushing even higher than 100g/h Carb intake during longer events to maximise performance benefits. It’s likely that Bryce would need to undergo some gut training to reach these numbers while maintaining no GI distress
- He was happy to report that he didn’t have any energy luls at all, and even had enough for a decent sprint finish at the end
Conclusions
- Overall, Bryce had a solid day out at the King’s Cup, in which his high carb intake allowed him enough energy to sprint for the line, and appropriate fluid and sodium intakes meant he didn’t suffer from the negative effects associated with dehydration
- While looking for future events, Bryce is keeping his eyes peeled for something which has a more ‘attritional’ style, in which mental fatigue and his strong nutritional strategy will have more of an impact on the results
Key info
Bryce Dyer
Male85kg
Sweat sodium concentration1,167mg/L
Sweat sodium classificationHigh
* determined by our Sweat Test
Result
Position22nd
Overall Time1:58:52
Event information
SportCycling
DisciplineGravel
EventKing's Cup Gravel Championships
LocationBury St. Edmunds, England
Date24th September, 2022
Total Distance61.2km / 38.0mi
Race conditions
Weather ConditionsMild
PrecipitationNo Rain
Min Temp16°C / 61°F
Max Temp16°C / 61°F
Avg Temp16°C / 61°F
Humidity71%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction8/10
Energy levels9/10Stable energy levels with enough in the tank for a decent sprint finish!
Toilet stopsNo
GI comfort10/10No GI distress at all
CrampingNo cramping
Bryce's Thoughts
I'd have liked to finish in the top 10 if everything went to plan, and will drop the pack for a bottle in my next race for sure
Data Confidence
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There is good confidence in the accuracy of the data reported. An athlete feels that the numbers closely reflect what they consumed despite a couple of estimations which may carry some degree of error. The majority of what was consumed is recorded to a high level of specificity (most volumes are known through the use of bottles brands quantities flavours). The numbers are very plausible and align with previous data recordings (if an athlete has collected data previously).