Santa Vall Stage 1&2

Sophie took on the two-day Santa Val stage race in Girona with a consistent fueling approach across both days. She started each morning with a carbohydrate-rich breakfast to support her energy levels, alongside a PF 30 Caffeine Gel in the final 30 minutes before each start to spike blood glucose levels at the gun. During the racing, she used PF Carb Only Drink Mix in her bottles, PF 60 Chew Bars and PF 30 Gels to maintain a consistent carb intake across the varied terrain. With over 1600m of climbing on Stage 1 alone, the ability to switch between fuel formats was important. The chew bars suited the steadier gradients where there was time to chew, while gels and drink mix were more practical when the road kicked up or the pace was too high to eat comfortably.

For Stage 1 (120km, 1600m elevation, ~4:17), she averaged ~85g/h, right within the recommended range for an event of this duration. For Stage 2 (85km, 1100m elevation, ~2:48), she still maintained ~82g/h despite the shorter day. With over 2700m of total climbing across the two stages, Sophie's muscles would have been heavily reliant on carbohydrate, particularly on the climbs where the body shifts towards greater carbohydrate oxidation. Although Sophie has previously hit higher carb intakes (such as at the Traka, 2025), her ~80g/h average was appropriate for the demands here. In a multi-day format like Santa Val, what happens between stages is just as important as what happens during them. Sophie’s post-race fueling after Stage 1 was imperative to support glycogen restoration ahead of Stage 2, and her strong second day performance suggests she got it right.

Sophie's hydration strategy centred on carrying multiple bottles of PF Carb Only Drink Mix with PH 1500 (Tablets) dissolved in them. During Stage 1, she drank ~2.75L over ~4hours 17 minutes (~641ml/h) in mild but humid conditions (13°C, 86% humidity). The high humidity is worth noting, as it reduces the body's ability to cool through sweat evaporation, meaning sweat rates can remain elevated even at moderate temperatures. In Stage 2, she drank ~2L over ~2 hours 48 minutes (~715ml/h), a slight increase despite cooler conditions (11°C, 65% humidity), likely reflecting the higher intensity of the shorter stage which would have increased her sweat rate. Across both days, her relative sodium concentration of ~793mg/L was very close to her sweat sodium concentration. This demonstrates a well-matched replacement strategy that would have helped maintain her fluid and electrolyte balance and limited any cumulative sodium deficit building across the two days. In warmer conditions where sweat rates increase, she may need to scale up her fluid intake to avoid a level of dehydration that could impact performance.

Sophie took one PF 30 Caffeine Gel before each stage alongside a cup of coffee with breakfast, providing elevated circulating caffeine levels at the start of the day. With a half-life of ~4-5 hours, her levels would have been sustained for much of Stage 2 (~2:48) but may have started to decline towards the end of Stage 1 (~4:17), potentially when the final climbs demanded the most focus. For longer stages or other multi-day events, she could benefit from adding a dose around the halfway mark to maintain the ergogenic benefits across the full duration.