Gel Waste – How Many Carbs Are You Losing?

04/01/2025 03:01 AM

What if you could increase the nutrition delivered to your muscles by 10%, 15%, or even more without changing your diet on or off the bike? It may sound too good to be true, but its not.The peloton is aiming higher and higher in the carbohydrate arms race of fueling on the bike, carefully selecting products and planning strategies. However, many of us make this hidden error every time we open a gel: some of the gel remains in the wrapper.When we grab a gel for a ride or race, we often assume were getting 100% of the stated carbohydrates on the label. In reality, Ive seen anywhere from 5% to 28% of the gel remain inside the wrapper. Even a 10% loss would translate to 81 g/hour instead of 90, or 108 g/hour instead of 120. If you multiply this loss over four or five hours, or consider the finishing times of longer gravel races, this could lead to missing a significant amount of fuel for the legs, ultimately hampering performance.Admittedly, as a sports dietitian, I hadnt given this scenario much thought when creating race-day plans. That changed recently when I purchased around 20 different types of gels with the intention of comparing their ingredients and packaging. Noticing variations in consistency, shape, and ease of use led me to wonder: how much product can I actually get out of each wrapper under real race-day conditions.Training TestsCurious, I started testing these gels on recent training rides. I squeezed them as...