• Harry Tanfield, professional cyclist who currently rides for Team Qhubeka NextHash, finished 4th at the British National Road Championships on what was a wet and chilly day. The 166km race was made up of 13-laps with ~1,200m total elevation of which the main climb was ridden on cobbles. Harry commented that it was an interesting race!
• Despite the cool UK conditions, Harry hit impressive fluid and sodium numbers which addressed his high sweat sodium concentration. On top of this, he exceeded the Quick Carb Calculator’s recommendations for his carbohydrate intake (>100g/hr) whilst maintaining good gastrointestinal comfort (nice one Harry!)

Hydration

• One challenge of Harry’s across the four hour race was to tread a fine line between staying well enough hydrated that dehydration wasn’t a performance limiter but not so hydrated that he experienced any desire to pee as he commented that “it was not the kind of race where you can (or want to) stop to pee so you need to be careful not to overdrink”
• On average, he consumed ~506ml/hr (16oz/hr) which mainly came from carb-rich fluids that he was using as a means to hit a high carbohydrate intake. Overall this is an adequate fluid intake given conditions were cool (~12℃/54°F)
• That said, when asked how he would rate his hydration strategy, Harry said 7 and thinks he did finish “a bit dehydrated and could have maybe taken on some plain water”, but once again mentioned the need to balance his fluid intake with the need to pee
• Contrary to this, he did comment that some plain water may have helped the gels he took in the final hour to sit better in his stomach
• Harry’s sodium intake was ~550 milligrams per hour which when we account for his fluid intake was a relative sodium concentration of ~1,088mg/L. We know that Harry is a salty sweater and so a higher than average sodium replacement would be our recommendation. On this occasion, Harry’s intake was optimal as conditions were cold and his sweat losses were unlikely to be too high, even despite his high workrate
• In line with the above, Harry experienced no cramping, something which has been a problem in the past and would suggest he under-did his sodium, and no strong craving for plain water either; something which would indicate he’d overdone it

Fueling

Conclusions

• Harry tried to execute a tactical race at the National Road Championships which included a significant climb (~500m at ~10% gradient) each lap. Knowing that he wasn’t the best climber in the field he aimed to lead at the bottom of each climb, allowing some space to drop back as they ascended, knowing he could catch them again on the flat
• In the end, Harry finished fourth and rated his overall satisfaction with the race a 9 as a result of not getting on the podium where he had hoped to be. He reflected that he could have changed his tactics to secure third place but he went all in to try and get the win
• As far as his fueling and hydration strategy are concerned, Harry did a fantastic job at meeting his carbohydrate, fluid and sodium needs. He consumed an hourly carbohydrate intake above recommendations without experiencing any major gut issues, which is a testament to how well adapted and accustomed his body is to this intake