UCI backs 6 supplements, power meters, carb strategies

The UCI has published its first cycling nutrition position statement, backed by 14 peer-reviewed reviews across sports science and nutrition covering every discipline it governs. It sets cycling-specific numbers for carbs, protein and supplements, but doesn’t look favourably on continuous glucose monitors, which are banned in any case.

The linked UCI article is highly detailed; here is a summary.

Headline numbers

Carbohydrate intake scales sharply with training load:

• Light training: 5–7 g/kg bodyweight per day.
• Training above four hours a day: more than 8 g/kg per day.
• Extreme racing, such as Grand Tour stages: 10–25 g/kg per day.
• Daily energy intake in the hardest competition scenarios: up to 7,000–9,000 kcal.
• Protein: 1.6–2.1 g/kg per day, spread across meals.
• Energy availability: around 40–45 kcal per kg of fat-free mass per day.

Fuelling on the bike

• 40–75 minute races: carbohydrate mouth-rinsing rather than full intake.
• 1–2.5 hour races: 30–60 g of carbohydrate per hour. (Suggestion: Maurten)
• Races beyond 2.5 hours: around 90 g per hour, using multiple-transportable-carbohydrate products. (glucose+fructose)
• Some professional riders report 120 g per hour or more (unconfirmed evidential benefit).
• Fluid loss: keep under 2% of body mass. (Suggestion: hDrop Review)

Supplements: what’s actually backed by evidence

The statement narrows the long list of products marketed to cyclists down to six with genuine evidence behind them:

• Caffeine. (Suggestion: measured dose from tablets is much more than from espresso)
• Creatine.
• Sodium bicarbonate. (Suggestion: Maurten bicarb system)
• Beta-alanine.
• Dietary nitrate (beetroot juice). (Suggestion: Beet-It)
• Glycerol. eg PMC3590833

A seventh, exogenous ketones, is flagged as unproven. The authors warn that supplement regulation is weaker than food or drug regulation, meaning an athlete can fail a doping test from an undeclared ingredient with no intent to cheat. The recommendation is to use only third-party batch-tested products, checked against services such as NSF Certified for Sport or the Cologne List.

Where the tech helps and where it doesn’t

• Power meters get a clear endorsement: the statement calls them validated, reliable and useful for estimating energy expenditure. (Suggestion: Favero Assioma Pro RS2 )
• Continuous glucose monitors do not fare as well. The statement points to a 10–15 minute lag against actual blood glucose, inconsistent readings around meals and high-intensity efforts, and results that vary depending on whether the sensor sits on the arm or the leg.
• UCI has banned CGMs and other metabolic wearables during competition outright, except for riders with Type 1 diabetes.

Bone health and energy availability

• Road cyclists show lower bone density than other athlete groups, a result of low-impact training combined with the calorie restriction some riders use to chase a lighter race weight.
• The statement pushes back on “lighter is always better” thinking.
• It flags Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) as a real risk specific to cyclists and recommends the REDs Clinical Assessment Tool for early screening.

The statement’s own list of research gaps is telling. UCI wants solid evidence on whether the 120+ g/hour fuelling trend actually helps, and admits most existing supplement research was done on lower-tier male athletes, not the elite or female riders the recommendations are meant to guide.

Quick answers

How much carbohydrate should a cyclist eat per hour during a race?
The statement recommends 30–60 g/hour for races under 2.5 hours, rising to around 90 g/hour beyond that, using multiple transportable carbohydrate products at the higher end.

Are continuous glucose monitors useful for cycling?
The statement finds the evidence for accuracy during exercise weak, and UCI bans CGMs in competition except for riders with Type 1 diabetes.

Which supplements have real evidence behind them for cyclists?
According to the statement, caffeine, creatine, sodium bicarbonate, beta-alanine, and dietary nitrate and glycerol have real evidence behind them for cyclists.

Last Updated on 29 October 2026 by tfk the5krunner