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7th

Leon Chevalier's scorecard

IRONMAN World Championships

Saturday 8th October, 2022

Within recommended ranges

Just outside recommended ranges

Significantly outside recommended ranges

  • 105g

    Carb per hour
  • 928mg

    Sodium per hour
  • 1,385ml

    Fluid per hour
  • 670mg/L

    Relative sodium concentration
  • 6.07mg/kg

    Caffeine per bodyweight
  • How Leon hit those numbers

    finish
    star
    bottle
     
    2 x PH 1500 (Tablets) in 500ml Water
    300g x Banana Bread
    300ml x Black Tea
     
     
    1 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
     
     
    *** Review technique if drinking much at this point!
     
     
    1 x 500ml bottle with two PH 1500 Sachets + One PF 90 Gel
    1 x 1L bottle with two PH 1500 Sachets + one PF 90 gel
    1 x 1L bottle with 3 PH 1500 Sachets + One PF 90 Gel
    3 x PF 30 Energy Gel
    3 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
    4.725L x Plain water
    1 x Snickers
     
     
    1.35L x PH 1500 (Tablets)
    7 x PF 30 Energy Gel
    2.603L x Plain water
    90ml x Coca Cola Original
     

    How Leon's hydration and fueling went...

      • After claiming 6th place in a time of 8:01:41 at his first IRONMAN World Championships in Utah, May 2022, Leon was looking to build on this result at the second World Championship of the year in Kona.
      • Over the 18 months preceding Kona, Leon worked extremely hard to improve his ability to take in and utilise an increasing amount of carbohydrate to support the extremely high level of power output that racing at this level requires. This required a commitment to ‘gut training’ so that he could push above the 90g/hr ‘ceiling’ that was previously considered to be the upper limit of what could be tolerated by athletes in endurance events.

    Hydration

      • As is usual for him, Leon pre-loaded his electrolyte intake using PH 1500 (Tablets) to ensure that he would start the race hydrated with maximum blood plasma volume
      • Knowing that the soaring temperatures out on course would combine with extreme humidity to make it ‘feel like’ at least 32°C / 90°F, his hydration strategy had to reflect the increases in sweat rate he would experience
      • With this in mind he ‘super concentrated’ his three premixed bike bottles with seven PH 1500 (Drink Mix), which allowed him to effectively dilute this intake with additional water bottles from aid stations
      • Leon decided on the day that he would take two 750ml (24oz) water bottles from each of the seven bike aid stations, pouring one over himself and drinking as much as he could of the other before the trash zone ended. Because he was gulping large volumes so quickly this actually meant he was regurgitating some water while riding his way to the 3rd fastest bike split on the day of 4:09:05, which would’ve broken the course record before this race
      • Overall, on the bike he had an average fluid intake of ~1669ml (56oz) per hour, which is 23% more than his previous highest at his victorious l’Alpe d’Huez triathlon in July. Given that Leon didn’t pee throughout the race, this lofty intake doesn’t suggest that he was necessarily overdrinking. Although he did report that he would have liked to drink smaller volumes more often if this had been feasible on course
      • For the vast majority of athletes, trying to drink ~1.65L (56oz) of fluid per hour while cycling at a high intensity would be neither feasible nor recommended. Testament to his ‘gut training’, Leon was just about able to tolerate this intake on the day and limit the level of dehydration he suffered
      • This bike intake had an average relative sodium concentration of 769mg/L (mg/32oz)- lower than we usually see from Leon due to the elevated plain water intake
      • On the run, Leon utilised the pro aid stations picking up three 500ml (16oz) bottles of PH 1500 (Tablets) and three of plain water. He also reported drinking ~19 cups of water that he picked up from the 16 standard aid stations on course, bringing his average fluid intake for this leg to ~1.44L/h (48oz/h) with a relative sodium concentration of just 501mg/L (mg/32oz)
      • For someone who has a Sweat Test reading of 1,331mg/L (mg/32oz), we would generally recommend that Leon consciously increase his sodium intake in extreme conditions like this, easily done by carrying Electrolyte Capsules. Despite this relatively low sodium intake, Leon was happy to report no cramping whatsoever throughout the race, and a self reported 10 (out of 10) rating for his hydration strategy

    Fueling

    Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation

    30g

    carb 30 mins before

    60-90g

    carb per hour during
      • Leon carb loaded by eating foods rich in carbohydrate for both dinner the night before the race and breakfast in the morning. This ensured his glycogen levels were fully topped up ahead of pre-race check in
      • A final PF 30 Caffeine Gel 15 minutes before start time further increased the energy available to Leon by boosting blood glucose, preserving his glycogen stores for use later on in the race. This gel also helped him utilise the benefits of caffeine
      • By mixing his PF 90 Gels in bottles along with his PH 1500 (Tablets) Leon was able to maximise carb intake with minimal disruption to his aero position on the bike. He also carried two PF 30 Caffeine Gels which he tactically timed to have before cycling through Hawi (a large climb) and right at the end of the bike leg
      • With his usual Snickers bar eaten, and two extra unplanned PF 30 Gels, Leon achieved an impressive average carb intake of ~139g/h while on the bike. This is yet another example of an athlete consuming over 90g/h of carbohydrate and clearly reaping the benefits, cruising into T2 after just 4:09:05
      • On the run, Leon followed his pre race fueling strategy to the letter, with one PF 30 Gel every 20 minutes, and one cup of Coke at the last aid station providing ~80g of carbs per hour to get him round the marathon run in 2:49:28
      • Leon’s regular boosts of caffeine throughout the day meant that he achieved an intake of ~6.08mg/kg. This is right at the top end of the general recommendation for enhanced sports performance of 3-6mg/kg
      • A total average of 105g carbs per hour is ~10% lower than the previous highest intake we have analysed from Leon, suggesting this level of consumption was fairly comfortable for him to achieve and clearly compatible with a high level of performance

    Conclusions

      • With a blistering total time of 7:55:52, Leon would have won the IRONMAN World Championships on this course in all but the three most recent editions of the race. Ending up 7th overall in what turned out to be the fastest IM World Championship in history.
      • Unsurprisingly, Leon reported being satisfied with both his hydration and fueling strategies for this race, achieving an IRONMAN PB time compared to his previous quickest at IM Mallorca in 2021
      • He also reported that he feels he “can definitely go faster” in the future and we look forward to seeing him return to the Big Island in years to come

    Key info

    Leon Chevalier

    Male
    67kg
    Sweat sodium concentration
    1,331mg/L
    Sweat sodium classification
    Very High
    * determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test

    Result

    Position
    7th
    Overall Time
    7:55:52
    Swim Time
    0:52:54
    Bike Time
    4:09:05
    Run Time
    2:49:28

    Event information

    Sport
    Triathlon
    Discipline
    Full distance
    Event
    IRONMAN World Championships
    Location
    Kona, Hawaii
    Date
    8th October, 2022
    Website
    Swim Distance
    3.8km / 2.4mi
    Bike Distance
    180.2km / 112.0mi
    Run Distance
    42.2km / 26.2mi
    Total Distance
    226.2km / 140.6mi
    Bike Elevation
    1,772m / 5,814ft
    Run Elevation
    307m / 1,007ft
    Total Elevation
    2,079m / 6,821ft

    Race conditions

    Weather Conditions
    Very Hot and Humid
    Precipitation
    No Rain
    Min Temp
    24°C / 75°F
    Max Temp
    30°C / 86°F
    Avg Temp
    27°C / 81°F
    Feels like temp
    32°C / 90°F
    Humidity
    69%

    Athlete feedback

    Race Satisfaction
    8/10
    Hydration rating
    10/10
    I would have drunk smaller quantities but more often if I could have
    Energy levels
    8/10
    Really good on the bike, dipping down sometimes on the run
    Toilet stops
    No
    GI comfort
    8/10
    Cramping
    No cramping

    Leon's Thoughts

     7th at World Champs isn't too bad!

    Leon's full stats

     Carbohydrate (g)Sodium (mg)Fluid (ml)Caffeine (mg)Relative sodium concentration (mg/L)
    Overall
    Total intake8327,34910,968407670
    Per hour1059281,38551
    Bike and Run
    Total intake8027,34910,968307670
    Per hour1151,0551,57444
    Bike
    Total intake5785,3246,925300769
    Per hour1391,2831,66972
    Run
    Total intake2242,0254,0437501
    Per hour807191,4353

    Data Confidence

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    There is some confidence in the quantities and brands of products consumed but the data may lack specifics (e.g. volumes specific flavours). A high number of estimations have been made and the room for error is moderate-high. There may also be the possibility that some intake has been grossly over- or under-estimated.

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