Ollie Jones
British Gravel Championships
Galloway Forest ParkTop 50, M25-29Ollie's headline numbers
Ollie's strategy
Fueling
A carb rich meal (low in fat & fibre) ~1-4 hours before would help Ollie start optimally fueled
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"I was pretty nervous in the morning so breakfast wasn’t easy, but once the racing kicked off, I didn’t struggle to hit my carb targets! I felt good and my energy only started to tail off a bit in the final 20km because the pace was harder than I could’ve imagined it was going to be."
As we’ve seen previously, Ollie can comfortably tolerate carb intakes above 90g/h when working hard. This race was no different, and despite the intensity and challenging terrain, Ollie fueled consistently across the race with a combination of PF 30 Gels, PF 30 Caffeine Gels and over-concentrated PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix. His nerves ahead of the race kept him from consuming the carb-rich breakfast we’d recommend, but he did well to keep energy levels topped up while riding to ensure he could generate the power to stay in the top group and finish strong on the day.
Hydration
Taking on board an appropriate amount of fluid and sodium is essential to maintaining blood volume and supporting the cardiovascular effort needed to perform on race day.
Whilst the absolute amount of sodium and fluid consumed per hour is important, it’s critical to consider these in relation to each other. This is known as 'relative sodium concentration' and it’s expressed in milligrams per litre (mg/L). How much sodium you’re taking in per litre of fluid is more important than the absolute amount taken in per hour.
Ollie880mg/L
Ollie has been Sweat Tested to dial in his hydration plan
Sweat sodium concentration (mg/L) is largely genetically determined and remains relatively stable. Knowing how salty your sweat is enables you to replace a good proportion of your sweat losses, which can range from 200-2,000mg/L.
Whilst Ollie's losses are on the moderate side, getting his hydration strategy right is still important if he wants to perform at his best.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"My pre-race discussion with Tash was about whether to take the hydration vest or not. I am so glad I decided to take the hydration vest in the end. Having a highly saturated bottle of Carb and Electrolyte Mix and then plain water to wash down the gels made it so much easier"
After chatting with the PF&H Sports Science Team, Ollie chose to add a hydration vest with some plain water into his plan, instead of relying on only two 500ml Bottles of concentrated PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix. Considering the higher than expected intensity of the race, this extra fluid helped to replenish his sweat losses and also ensured he could ‘rinse’ his mouth regularly in between taking sips of drink mix and gels. Overall, both his fluid and sodium intake were optimal for his needs during the race, and the lack of cramping he experienced was testament to this.
Caffeine
Beyond the Three Levers of Performance (carb, sodium and fluid), caffeine is one of only a few substances that is proven to improve performance for most endurance athletes as it can help stave off mental and physical fatigue.
T - 0-4hrs: Had a final hit of caffeine
As a frequent coffee drinker, it was no surprise to see Ollie incorporating some caffeine into his race-day nutrition plan. By pre-caffeinating with a PF 30 Caffeine Gel not long before lining up on the start line, and having three more caffeine gels interspersed throughout the race, Ollie was able to meet the recommended guidelines to reap the ergogenic benefits the stimulant has to offer.
How Ollie hit his numbers
Here's everything that Ollie ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“Immediately after the race I was a bit disheartened. A chain drop put me out of the chase group fighting for 20th, and after that I was kind of in no-man’s land so I cruised it into the finish. But after looking at the data, I couldn’t have done any more! The level of gravel racing currently is so high. I held my best all time two hour power and 10 min power this year. So looking at that I couldn’t have had a better race!”
“Ollie had a good performance in Galloway, hitting power numbers he’s not yet seen this year. He nailed his nutrition strategy across the race, hitting the carb, sodium and fluid numbers he planned and practised. This impressive execution of his strategy no doubt supported his efforts from gun to tape.”
PF&HOllie's full stats
Data Confidence
We rate each of our case studies from 1-5 based on the level of accuracy, and our confidence in the data.
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).