1st
Leon Chevalier's scorecard
IM 70.3 Les Sables D'Olonne
Sunday 2nd July, 2023
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
107g
Carb per hour
419mg
Sodium per hour
579ml
Fluid per hour
725mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
7.51mg/kg
Caffeine per bodyweight
How Leon hit those numbers
500ml x PH 1500
300g x Banana Bread
250ml x Black Tea
1 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
*** Try to avoid drinking too much at this point in the race!
1L x PH 1500 (Drink Mix)
2 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
1 x PF 90 Energy Gel
750ml x Plain water
2 x Energy gel (25g carb)
2 x PF 30 Energy Gel
1 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
500ml x Plain water
1 x Energy gel (25g carb)
1 x Energy gel with caffeine (25g carb, 100mg caffeine)
30ml x Coca Cola Original
How Leon's hydration and fueling went...
- Leon produced a fantastic performance at IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne to take the win on home soil in France, where he laid down his best ever 70.3 bike performance and fastest run split to date
- And that’s despite the fact that things didn’t go exactly to plan as Leon dropped one of his highly concentrated carbohydrate and sodium bottles at the beginning of the bike. He was able to lean on his past racing experience, including at IM Mallorca 2021 where a similar mishap occurred, to replace at least some of what he’d lost from his bottle by picking up products from aid stations on course
- Leon showed impressive flexibility to adjust his plan and executed an impressive fueling strategy on the day…
Hydration
- As an athlete who has worked with the PF&H Sports Science team for a few years, Leon knows how to nail his pre-race and mid-race hydration strategy to start optimally hydrated and replace his losses effectively throughout
- Typically, Leon’s 70.3 hydration involves drinking two 1L / 32oz bottles of PH 1500 which also contain one PF 90 Gel each on the bike, and supplementing this with additional water from aid stations
- But, Leon dropped one of his 1L / 32oz bottles at the very start of the bike leg. He was able to pick up ~750ml / 24oz of plain water to make up for some of the fluid he had dropped, however he felt this wasn’t enough as he mentioned feeling thirsty towards the end of the bike. In an attempt to get back on top of his sweat losses, he picked up ~500ml / 16oz of water from aid stations on the run, the highest fluid volume than we’ve seen him drink on the run in a 70.3
- Leon wasn’t able to replace the 1,000mg of sodium he had dropped, resulting in his overall relative sodium concentration (~725mg/L) being lower than we usually see as he bids to replace his salty sweat (Leon loses 1,392mg per litre / 32oz of sweat)
- Leon drank his other concentrated bottle and pre-loaded, and in these mild conditions this hydration strategy was adequate for him as he reported no issues except for the feelings of thirst on the bike. If the race was hotter or any longer, Leon may have experienced greater issues as a result of dropping half of his hydration
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- As is evidenced in Leon’s case studies, his middle and long course fueling strategy is often made up of concentrated energy mixes throughout the bike. Although this wouldn’t be the recommendation for everyone, more pro triathletes are using this technique to save themselves the valuable time and effort associated with opening other products
- To be able to use these mixes successfully, athletes undergo vast amounts of gut training to become accustomed to the specific concentrations before they use them on race day
- The difference in his intake to previous 70.3 races was that dropping his bottle meant Leon had lost 120g of carbohydrate. On top of consuming one carb-rich bottle and two PF 30 Caffeine Gels to replace the fuel he dropped, he picked up two on-course energy gels containing 25g of carb each
- Not making up the additional 70g of carb he had intended to consume, Leon mentioned ‘feeling low’ on the run so he picked up two additional energy gels (25g carb each) on top of his planned two PF 30 Gels, one PF 30 Caffeine Gel and a small amount of Coca Cola
- Being able to pick up the additional carb helped Leon take on an average ~107g/h over the whole race, which is an impressive feat for most athletes. However, Leon’s bike intake is often closer to 120g/h, so he did feel that despite his strong bike and run performances, he felt like he “ran the last 5km on empty”
- As part of his strategy, Leon consumed a total of ~503mg of caffeine, in the form of three caffeine gels and a small cup of Coca Cola. While this is at the top end of the general caffeine recommendations (3-6mg/kg), as an athlete with a high tolerance for caffeine this amount will have kept his blood caffeine levels high throughout the race to increase his perceived energy levels
Conclusions
- Thinking on his feet, Leon was able to replace a solid amount of the fluid and fuel he dropped early on throughout both the bike and run, allowing him to execute one of his best 70.3 performances yet. As a result, he rated his race satisfaction a 9 (out of 10)
Key info
Leon Chevalier
Male
67kg
Sweat sodium concentration
1,392mg/L
Sweat sodium classification
Very High
* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test
Result
Position
1st
Overall Time
3:46:11
Swim Time
0:27:45
Bike Time
2:03:07
Run Time
1:10:21
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Middle distance
Event
IM 70.3 Les Sables D'Olonne
Location
Vendée, France
Date
2nd July, 2023
Website
Swim Distance
1.9km / 1.2mi
Bike Distance
90.1km / 56.0mi
Run Distance
21.1km / 13.1mi
Total Distance
113.1km / 70.3mi
Bike Elevation
454m / 1,490ft
Run Elevation
61m / 200ft
Total Elevation
515m / 1,690ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Mild
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
14°C / 57°F
Max Temp
22°C / 72°F
Avg Temp
18°C / 64°F
Humidity
65%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
9/10
Hydration rating
9/10
I dropped one of my bottles at the beginning of the bike, which explains why I was a little thirsty towards the end despite picking up what I could from the aid stations
Energy levels
8/10
Energy levels were good throughout the bike, but I ran the last 5km on empty
GI comfort
10/10
Cramping
No cramping
Leon's Thoughts
This was my best 70.3 bike to date, and I backed it up with a fast run so training is going well!
Leon's full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 403 | 1,580 | 2,180 | 503 | 725 |
| Per hour | 107 | 419 | 579 | 134 | |
| Bike and Run | |||||
| Total intake | 373 | 1,580 | 2,180 | 403 | 725 |
| Per hour | 116 | 491 | 678 | 125 | |
| Bike | |||||
| Total intake | 230 | 1,539 | 1,650 | 200 | 933 |
| Per hour | 112 | 751 | 805 | 98 | |
| Run | |||||
| Total intake | 143 | 41 | 530 | 203 | 77 |
| Per hour | 123 | 35 | 454 | 174 | |
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
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).