Claire Hann's scorecard
Welsh National 50m Time Trial
Sunday 26th September, 2021
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
- 84gCarb per hour
- 208mgSodium per hour
- 207mlFluid per hour
- 1,006mg/LRelative sodium concentration
- 0mgTotal caffeine
How Claire hit those numbers
Before race (>30mins)
1.5L x PH 1500 (Tablet)
1 x Cup of coffee
1.5 x Cans of rice pudding
1 x Energy bar (30g carb)
2 x Caffeine tablets (200mg total)
Pre-race (<30mins)
1 x Energy gel (22g carb)
Race - During
250ml x PH 1500 (Drink Mix)
150ml x Additional fluid in mixed drinks
6 x Energy gel (22g carb)
- Pro triathlete Claire Hann enjoyed an excellent race to win the Welsh 50-mile Championship in September 2021. Looking back, she said “overall I was happy with how the race went and how I hydrated and fueled. Potentially, I could have had a bit more confidence, backed myself, and dug a little deeper in the mid-part of the race as I managed to finish very strongly. So that's something to remember in future races. I think my legs are stronger than I give them credit for!”
- Despite recently returning from injury, she was aiming for a sub-1 hour 55 minute time and duly delivered. She finished the race 8 minutes ahead of second place, in 1:55:50, and therefore rated her race satisfaction as 8 out of 10
Hydration
- Claire drank ~400ml/14oz of fluid in total over the race (~207ml/hr). Although this is on the lower end of the volume of fluid we’ve seen cyclists drink on average, the conditions were mild (15℃/59°F), and Claire’s sweat loss was unlikely to warrant any higher rate of consumption
- Claire said “I think my hydration strategy was fine given the circumstances. Because it was very temperate weather conditions and a relatively short race it didn't need to be absolutely dialled to perfection. I feel like there’s more wiggle room on shorter and cooler races.”
- Mixing her fluid, electrolytes and gels into one bottle made her drink mix hypertonic (more concentrated than blood). In these circumstances, where getting carbohydrates into the bloodstream is the main priority over fluid intake, this worked well. As an experienced athlete, Claire knows that during longer races, especially in triathlon, this method isn’t always ideal and we’d usually recommend separating hydration and fueling (i.e. use your bottles for hydration and solids / gels etc for fueling) for longer duration events as this makes it easier to keep on top of your numbers
- In addition to fueling well before the race, Claire preloaded with PH 1500 to make sure she was starting optimally hydrated. Then, during the race, Claire mixed half a sachet of PH 1500 in her bottle in a bid to continue to replace her sodium losses
- This meant Claire consumed an average of ~208mg of sodium per hour; in relation to the water she drank, this meant the relative sodium concentration of her intake was ~1,006mg/L. Considering the mild conditions and her moderate sweat sodium concentration (676mg/L), she was replacing a high proportion of her losses
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30gcarb 30 mins before
30-60gcarb per hour during
- Before the 9:00am race start, Claire ate one-and-a-half cans of rice pudding and an energy bar, before consuming an extra energy gel in the final 10 minutes before getting to the start line. This is an ideal carb-rich pre-race consumption to top up her glycogen stores before a high intensity exercise bout lasting nearly 2 hours
- To fuel during the race, Claire had an 800ml/27oz aero bottle filled with 6 energy gels along with some water. Over the course of the race, Claire sipped from her bottle regularly (every 15-20 minutes) and emptied the bottle by the end. This meant that she was able to ‘drip feed’ her carb intake and keep her energy levels up throughout
- This meant she achieved an average intake of ~84g carb per hour. This is an excellent intake, above the Quick Carb Calculator’s recommendation of 30-60g/hr. Evidence suggests that greater carbohydrate ingestion can positively impact performance so this was a great level of intake
- Claire had a large cup of coffee and some caffeine tablets before the race (~300mg caffeine in total). Caffeine’s half life (i.e. the time it takes for the concentration consumed to decrease by half) of ~5 hours meant Claire didn’t need to consume any caffeine during the race, as the caffeine would still have been in her system to increase alertness and reduce her perception of effort
Conclusions
- Claire produced a great race at the Welsh National Champs to clock her fastest 50 mile time trial of the year. She was “really happy with how the race turned out” and after a “tough year rehabbing a running injury, it’s been great to see my progression on the bike”
- Her approach was “less measured than it would be for a triathlon” but she still managed to consume good levels of carb, fluid and sodium during the race and had an excellent pre-race consumption
Key info
Claire Hann
Female
Sweat sodium concentration676mg/L
Sweat sodium classificationLow
* determined by our Sweat Test
Result
Position1st
Overall Time1:55:50
Event information
SportCycling
DisciplineTime trial
EventWelsh National 50m Time Trial
LocationAbergavenny, Wales
Date26th September, 2021
Total Distance80.0km / 49.7mi
Race conditions
Weather ConditionsMild
PrecipitationNo Rain
Min Temp15°C / 59°F
Max Temp15°C / 59°F
Avg Temp15°C / 59°F
Humidity80%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction8/10
Hydration rating8/10Because it was very temperate conditions and a relatively short race it didn't need to be absolutely dialled to perfection. There is definitely a lot more wiggle room on shorter and cooler races
Toilet stopsNoNeeded to pee at the startline but as soon as I got going I completely lost the need, so I think it was just nerves
GI comfort10/10
CrampingNo cramping
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
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).