Yngvild Kaspersen
CCC by UTMB
Chamonix1st, FPROYngvild's headline numbers
Yngvild's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
Yngvild would benefit from taking in a final dose of carb <30 minutes before
"My effort levels felt steady, I had good energy through most of the race and no real dips."
Race morning began with toast, peanut butter and banana alongside a small black coffee and with 200ml of PH 1500 in the lead-up to the 9am start - this final pre-race meal will have helped top up Yngvild’s carbohydrate and sodium levels ahead of a long day on the trails.
Once racing began, Yngvild settled into a high and largely consistent carbohydrate strategy built around PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix and PF Carb Only Drink Mix combined in the same flask, alongside PF 300 Flow Gel, PF 30 Gels and PF 30 Chews. She averaged ~92g/h over the opening ~6 hours to Champex-Lac and pushed this up to ~101g/h between Champex-Lac and Vallorcine (~4 hours), both comfortably above the 90g/h mark, which speaks to the gut training implemented to help her ability to tolerate this volume of carbohydrate at race pace. Her intake fell to ~59g/h over the final 2 hours into Chamonix, as she picked up only one of two planned gels while making her decisive move through the field in the closing kilometres. Across the full ~108km, this amounted to ~89g/h - a strong, well-tolerated number that only tailed off once racing took priority over her fueling routine - and would have supported her ability to push through the field towards the end of the race, while her competition faded.
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.
Yngvild778mg/L
Yngvild has been Sweat Tested to dial in her 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 Yngvild's losses are on the low side, getting her hydration strategy right is still important if she wants to perform at her best.
Learn moreDrinking a strong electrolyte drink before the race could have helped Yngvild start optimally hydrated
"I was quite thirsty around halfway, but I filled my bottle in a fountain on the climb which helped. This was one of the hottest parts of the race too."
Yngvild carried a mix of 500ml soft flasks throughout - combining PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix and PF Carb Only Drink Mix in the same bottle, as well as separate flasks of plain water alongside Electrolyte Capsules. These bottles helped replace a decent proportion of her measured sweat sodium losses of 778mg/L. Overall, she averaged ~306ml of fluid per hour, with a relative sodium concentration of ~663mg of sodium per litre, which sits reasonably close to her sweat losses given the cool, wet conditions that kept sweat rates down for most of the day. Her intake varied a lot by section: just ~165ml/h over the opening segment (where it rained consistently), before rising sharply to ~567ml/h between Champex-Lac and Vallorcine as she got noticeably thirsty on the warmer climb out of Martigny, then dropping back to ~174ml/h as conditions cooled again in the closing stages and she was focused on securing 1st place. This reactive pattern supported her performance well enough on the day in these conditions, but with one flask starting empty and the warmest section of the race arriving early in that second segment, there's an opportunity for Yngvild to front-load a little more fluid before she feels thirsty, rather than catching up after the fact.
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.
Consuming caffeine in the hours before the start may have increased perceived energy levels
Alongside a small black coffee before the start, Yngvild's tracked caffeine intake came from a single PF 30 Caffeine Gel taken in the closing Vallorcine-to-Chamonix segment, which meant she hit ~1.1mg/kg. This sits well below the 3-6mg/kg typically recommended to get the heightened alertness and decreased perceived-effort benefits of caffeine. So, there's room for her to use it more deliberately and practice in training - for example splitting multiple smaller caffeinated doses through the second half of the race - particularly as her tolerance for the stimulant and the absence of any reported side-effects, suggests she could handle more.
How Yngvild hit her numbers
Here's everything that Yngvild ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I was super chilled in the morning. My plan was simply to enjoy the day and the race with no expectations.”
“A second CCC title in wet and repeatedly rerouted conditions is a brilliant result, and Yngvild's composure - both in her relaxed race-morning mindset and her patient move through the field in the second half of the race - was matched by fueling that held up at ~89g/h across ~108km. With her carbohydrate and caffeine tolerance both looking strong, there's plenty to build on as she takes aim at her next mountain ultra.”
PF&HYngvild'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).