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
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 intake | 832 | 7,349 | 10,968 | 407 | 670 |
Per hour | 105 | 928 | 1,385 | 51 | |
Bike and Run | |||||
Total intake | 802 | 7,349 | 10,968 | 307 | 670 |
Per hour | 115 | 1,055 | 1,574 | 44 | |
Bike | |||||
Total intake | 578 | 5,324 | 6,925 | 300 | 769 |
Per hour | 139 | 1,283 | 1,669 | 72 | |
Run | |||||
Total intake | 224 | 2,025 | 4,043 | 7 | 501 |
Per hour | 80 | 719 | 1,435 | 3 |
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
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.