The Traka 360

Sticking to a consistent fueling plan over nearly 14 hours is no small feat, and Danni was targeting as close to 90g of carbohydrate per hour as she could manage in order to preserve her muscle glycogen levels. Danni also spent large sections of this race repairing punctures and riding without a bike computer following a crash, which meant she was forced to surge and chase her rivals multiple times. This will have increased her caloric demands, and likely contributed to her low energy levels at around 250km. Sports Scientist Minty was part of her support crew during the race, and was collecting and weighing her nutrition to accurately recount how much she took compared to her target. Interestingly, some of her PF 30 Gels had up to ~30% of their contents left in the wrapper, which somewhat explains her actual intake being much below her pre-race target. Perhaps using a Flow Flask with PF 300 Flow Gel could help her avoid losing small amounts of each gel, and compounding over 14 hours leading to significant shifts in her actual versus planned carbohydrate intake.

Danni’s planned hydration strategy was to drink ~8L (256oz) across the race split between her 2L (64oz) hydration pack, and water bottles picked up from her support crew. After weighing all the bottles and packs she dropped, she actually only drank ~6.1L (215oz), showing how small amounts leftover in each bottle can add up over the course of a race. Thankfully this didn’t impact her on the day, but in hotter conditions, which are likely due at Unbound just three weeks after this race, this may impact her hydration status significantly.

As one of the most well-researched ergogenic aids in endurance sports, caffeine was a staple in Danni’s strategy for a bike race of this length. She mentioned in her post-race interview about remembering Minty’s advice to keep focussed in the second half, and her optimal dose of the stimulant in the form of PF 30 Caffeine Gels and cans of cola likely helped with that. Doses of ~3-6mg per kg body weight can improve endurance performance by ~2-4%, primarily by reducing perceived effort and improving mental focus. For context, Danni's finish time was just 2.2% behind the winner, well within the range of caffeine’s expected performance boost, so every little counts!