Leon Chevalier
IRONMAN® Vitoria-Gasteiz
Leon's headline numbers
Leon's strategy
Fueling
Carbohydrate is the main fuel you burn when racing. Failing to fuel properly is a leading cause of underperformance in longer races.
Leon went into the race with topped up glycogen stores thanks to his carb-load and carb-rich meal in the hours before the race. A PF 30 Caffeine Gel in the final 15 minutes also allowed some of this stored glycogen to be spared for later in the race. After finding his bike with a puncture in T1, Leon took on an impressive ~530g of carbs whilst riding in his pursuit of the leaders. He is no stranger to high carb numbers and we have seen him tolerate them well in previous races. During the run, he used PF 30 Gels and additional gels from aid stations to reach ~93g/h. Other than an “energy wobble” at ~18km, Leon was able to produce one of the fastest runs of the day, picking people off to finish strong in 9th place.
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.
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.
Given Leon’s losses are High (1,392mg/L), nailing his hydration strategy becomes especially crucial when it’s hot and/or humid.
Learn moreLeon stayed on top of his hydration during the bike, averaging ~920ml/h which is the most we’ve seen him drink as he battled against dehydration in the ~36°C (~97℉) heat. Leon has a very high sweat sodium concentration so he used PH 1500 (Drink Mix) to maintain a relative sodium concentration close to his known losses on the bike. This set him up to be able to cope with not consuming any sodium on the run, as he left his Electrolyte Capsules in T2. Perceptually, he didn’t report feeling too dehydrated while running but after finishing he experienced several hours of painful muscle cramps. In future, Leon could leave a premade bottle of PH 1500 in his personal needs bag as a contingency plan.
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.
Leon had a PF 30 Caffeine Gel in the final 30 minutes before the swim to increase his alertness and cognitive function. He maintained an effective level of caffeine in his blood by taking four further caffeine gels during the race. While his overall caffeine intake exceeded the scientific recommendations, this is not uncommon for longer duration events and also appropriate considering Leon’s tolerance and frequent use of caffeine.
How Leon hit his numbers
Here's everything that Leon ate and drank on the day...
Leon's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Leon
PF&HLeon's full stats
Data Confidence?
There is an adequate level of accuracy in the data collected and the numbers reported. The athlete manages to recall what they ate and drank including most specifics (brands flavours quantities plausible estimations of volumes). However there are estimations made within the data which affect the overall confidence level in the data reported.