• Danni is a professional cyclist for team DAS-Handsling and competed at Unbound Gravel 200 for the first time in her career
• An event famous for its extreme, high temperatures, the 2023 edition of Unbound saw freak storms the day before and during the race, which turned parts of the race course into a mud-bath just hours before the start
• Temperatures still remained high (~25℃ / 77°F), and Danni’s fuel and hydration plan was robust even in the most challenging of conditions, as she battled her way to fourth place overall

Hydration

• As temperatures have played a major role in previous editions of the race, Danni knew that starting optimally hydrated was going to be essential. She therefore preloaded her sodium levels using PH 1500 the morning before the race, thus maximising her temperature regulating potential, and increasing the volume of her blood plasma to reduce the strain on her cardiovascular system
• Danni prefers to consume most of her nutrition in liquid form, so her fluid supply formed an integral part of her fuel and hydration strategy. Like most riders at Unbound, Danni carried a pack at all times which had a ~1.5L (48oz) fluid bladder, and she drew most of her fluid from this. Her support crew also gave her two top-ups of this bladder at the aid stations, thus helping her execute her strategy
• In total, these packs provided her with ~3.6L (121oz) of PF 60 Drink Mix, which she mixed to 1.5 times the normal strength to give her ~90g per litre, and ~1,500mg of sodium per litre (32 oz). She also picked up ~3.15L (106 oz) of PH 1000 (Drink Mix) and ~900ml (30oz) of PH 1000 (Tablets) from her crew
• There were also water stations along the route, and Danni managed to pick up ~3L (96oz) of plain water from these by refilling the water bottles on her bike frame, but had to squirt ~500ml (16oz) of this onto her cassette to clear the mud at one point! She also grabbed some Coca Cola to satisfy a craving, which helped boost her caffeine intake slightly
• In all, Danni stuck to her word and relied largely on fluids to meet her nutritional needs, averaging ~880ml (29oz) of fluid per hour across the 12 hour race. These drinks had a relative sodium concentration of ~894mg per litre (mg/32oz)

Fueling

Conclusions

• Danni’s debut at the ”world's toughest gravel race” was superb, and she said the only thing that could have gone better was if she’d been victorious in the 3rd place sprint, where she was pipped by Sarah Sturm
• Compared to the last Case Study we crunched for Danni at the Tour of Britain, her carb intake has nearly doubled, and her fluid intake has tripled. This shows the progress Danni’s making with training her gut to absorb both more carb and more fluid, and it’s now helping facilitate her stronger performances. Check out Danni’s race data from her Strava profile too if you’re interested