You have spent three months building fitness for the training camp. You have followed a structured plan, nailed your intervals, built your endurance base, and arrived in Mallorca or Girona or wherever the roads are long and the sun is out.
Day one is brilliant. You feel strong. The group is flying. Everything you trained for is clicking into place.
Day two is solid. Your legs are heavier, but the coffee is good and the descents are worth the climbing.
Day three is when it falls apart. Not your fitness — your nutrition. You did not eat enough after day one. You drank wine at dinner because you were on holiday. You skipped the recovery shake because you were too tired to mix it. And now you are 40 km into a 130 km ride, your legs feel like concrete, your head is foggy, and you are watching the group ride away from you on a climb you should be able to handle.
This happens every single camp. To riders who would never dream of going into a race underprepared, but who treat a training camp like a holiday with bikes.
A training camp is the most concentrated training stimulus most amateurs experience all year. Five to seven days of riding volumes that are double or triple your normal weekly load, often in a climate your body is not adapted to, eating food you are not accustomed to. The riders who finish the camp stronger than they started are not the ones who trained hardest on day one. They are the ones who fuelled and recovered properly every single day. It is where cycling nutrition stops being theoretical and becomes the difference between a good week and a wasted one.
Let me break this down.
The Caloric Reality
Here is a number that stops most riders when they see it for the first time. A 75 kg rider covering 130 km with 2,000 metres of climbing in Mediterranean heat will burn approximately 3,800-4,200 kcal on the bike. Not for the day — just the ride.
Add basal metabolic rate — roughly 1,800-2,200 kcal for most male cyclists — and total daily energy expenditure on a camp day is in the region of 5,500-7,000 kcal. That is two to two-and-a-half times what the same rider burns on a normal training day at home.
Most riders do not eat anywhere near this amount on camp. They eat breakfast, take some gels on the ride, have lunch, and sit down to dinner. If they are being reasonable, they might manage 3,500-4,000 kcal for the day. That is a deficit of 1,500-3,000 kcal. Per day.
Over five days, that compounds to a total deficit of 7,500-15,000 kcal. To put that in perspective, 7,500 kcal of glycogen and stored energy is roughly what your body holds in its muscle and liver glycogen reserves combined. By day three or four, you have burned through those reserves without fully replacing them, and every ride from that point forward is running on an emptying tank.
This is not a willpower problem. It is an awareness problem. Riders simply do not realise how much food they need. And the fatigue from the riding makes them less hungry, not more — so they eat less precisely when they need more.
The fix is planning, not appetite. Know the numbers. Hit them deliberately.
The Pre-Camp Preparation
The nutritional work starts before you board the plane.
Arrive with full glycogen stores. In the two days before the camp, increase carbohydrate intake to 7-10 g/kg body weight per day while reducing training volume. For a 75 kg rider, that is 525-750 g of carbohydrate per day. This is not carb-loading in the race sense — it is simply ensuring you start day one with a full tank rather than arriving partially depleted from a normal training week.
Pack your on-bike nutrition. Do not rely on finding your preferred gels, bars, or drink mix at a local supermarket in Mallorca. Bring enough for every ride day plus a two-day buffer. If you use a specific electrolyte mix, bring it. If you have trained with a particular gel brand, bring it. Switching to unfamiliar products during a camp — when your gut is already under stress from increased volume and different food — is a reliable path to GI problems.
Build your gut tolerance. If your normal training fuelling is 40-50 g of carbohydrate per hour and you plan to take 80-90 g per hour during camp rides, your gut needs preparation. In the 4-6 weeks before the camp, progressively increase your on-ride carbohydrate intake by 10-15 g per hour each week. By departure day, your gut should be accustomed to processing the fuel load you will need on camp.
The Camp-Day Nutrition Framework
Every camp day follows the same nutritional rhythm. Nail this framework consistently and the cumulative fatigue that ruins most riders' camps becomes manageable.
Breakfast: 2-3 Hours Before the Ride
Breakfast is the most important off-bike meal on camp. It tops up liver glycogen (which depletes overnight by 30-50 per cent), provides the carbohydrate foundation for the first two hours of riding, and sets the GI tone for the day.
The formula: 2-3 g/kg body weight of carbohydrate, low fibre, low fat, moderate protein. For a 75 kg rider, that is 150-225 g of carbohydrate — a substantial meal.
Practical options:
- Large bowl of porridge with banana, honey, and a splash of milk (roughly 80-100 g carbs)
- Two or three slices of white toast with jam (40-60 g carbs)
- A handful of dates or dried fruit (30-40 g carbs)
- Coffee (the caffeine is functional, not just habitual)
The total should hit your target. If the hotel buffet offers a continental spread with pastries, yoghurt, and fruit, you can build a meal from these — but avoid high-fat items like croissants with butter, fried eggs, and cheese at breakfast. Fat slows gastric emptying, and you need that carbohydrate absorbed and available before you clip in.
Timing matters. Two to three hours before the ride start gives your body time to digest, absorb, and begin storing the carbohydrate as glycogen. If the group rolls at 09:00, breakfast at 06:30-07:00 is the window.
On the Bike: 60-90 g Carbohydrate Per Hour
This is not different from your normal fuelling strategy — but it is non-negotiable on camp because the rides are longer, the demands are higher, and you are running on a tighter glycogen margin with each consecutive day.
Target 60-90 g of carbohydrate per hour from the first hour. Do not wait until you feel hungry. By the time hunger arrives on a 5-hour ride, you are already behind. Set a timer on your bike computer for every 20 minutes and eat on schedule.
Practical fuelling for a 5-hour ride:
- Per hour: one gel (20-25 g carbs) plus one bidon of carbohydrate drink (40-60 g carbs), or two gels plus plain water
- Total for 5 hours: 300-450 g of carbohydrate on the bike
- Supplement with real food on longer rides: rice cakes, energy bars, bananas from the cafe stop
The drink mix is particularly important in warm climates because it delivers carbohydrate and fluid simultaneously. In 25-30 degree heat, aim for 500-750 ml of fluid per hour. If you are using a concentrated carbohydrate drink, carry a second bidon of plain water to manage osmolality and thirst.
The Recovery Window: Within 30-60 Minutes of Finishing
Here's where it gets really interesting. The most important meal on a training camp is not dinner. It is the meal — or shake, or snack — that you consume within the first 30-60 minutes of stepping off the bike.
In this window, your muscle glycogen synthase enzyme activity is at its peak. Your muscles are primed to absorb glucose from the bloodstream and convert it back to glycogen. The rate of glycogen resynthesis in this window is approximately 50 per cent higher than it will be two hours later.
The target: 1.2-1.5 g/kg carbohydrate and 0.3-0.4 g/kg protein within the first hour. For a 75 kg rider, that is 90-112 g of carbohydrate and 22-30 g of protein.
Practical recovery options:
- A commercial recovery shake (most deliver 40-60 g carbs and 20-30 g protein — top up with a banana and a handful of dates)
- 500 ml of chocolate milk plus a banana and a cereal bar
- A large bowl of rice with chicken from the hotel restaurant, if it is available immediately
The mistake most riders make is returning to the hotel, showering, lying down, and then eating lunch two hours later. By that point, the enzymatic window has narrowed and the rate of glycogen resynthesis has dropped significantly. You are beginning tomorrow's ride with a smaller glycogen tank than you could have had.
The Afternoon: Steady Intake
Between the recovery meal and dinner, keep eating. This is not the time for intermittent fasting or calorie restraint. Your body is repairing muscle damage, replenishing glycogen, and adapting to the training stimulus. It needs raw materials to do all three.
Mid-afternoon snacks should be carbohydrate-forward with some protein: a sandwich, fruit, yoghurt with granola, a smoothie. The goal is to keep a steady supply of glucose available for glycogen resynthesis rather than relying on dinner to make up the shortfall.
Dinner: Recovery, Not Reward
This is where camp nutrition goes wrong for most riders. After a hard day in the saddle, in a beautiful location, with friends and cold drinks available — dinner becomes a celebration. Rich food, multiple courses, wine.
Here's the problem. Alcohol impairs glycogen resynthesis. Even moderate intake — two to three units — reduces the rate at which your muscles restock their glycogen stores. Alcohol also disrupts slow-wave sleep, which is the phase where growth hormone peaks and the majority of muscular repair occurs. The result: you wake up on day three with less glycogen, less recovered muscle, and worse sleep quality than if you had skipped the wine.
I am not saying do not enjoy the trip. I am saying one glass with dinner is a different proposition to three glasses every night for five nights. The accumulated effect of nightly alcohol on a training camp is measurable and significant.
The dinner plate itself should be functional. One-half complex carbohydrate — rice, pasta, potatoes, bread. One-quarter lean protein — grilled chicken, fish, legumes. One-quarter vegetables for micronutrients, fibre, and volume. Keep fat moderate. Eat early enough that digestion is largely complete before you go to bed — a 2-3 hour window between finishing dinner and lights-out is ideal.
Hydration in Warm Climates
If you are leaving the UK for a Mediterranean training camp, your sweat rate is about to increase by 30-50 per cent. Your body is not heat-adapted. The sun is stronger. The ambient temperature is 10-15 degrees higher than your training environment. And dehydration compounds across days in a way that is difficult to appreciate in the moment.
A rider who finishes day one 1.5 per cent dehydrated — a level that barely registers subjectively — and does not fully rehydrate before bed starts day two already in deficit. By day three, the accumulated deficit manifests as fatigue, elevated heart rate, increased perceived exertion, poor sleep, and cramp.
The practical approach:
Before the ride. Drink 500-750 ml of fluid with electrolytes in the 2-3 hours before the start. Urine should be pale yellow — not clear (overhydrated) and not dark (underhydrated).
During the ride. 500-750 ml per hour as a baseline. More in temperatures above 28 degrees or on sustained climbs where airflow is minimal. Include 400-700 mg sodium per litre. Two bidons per hour is realistic for many riders.
After the ride. Aim to replace 150 per cent of fluid lost during the ride over the following 4-6 hours. If you lost 2 kg during the ride (measure by weighing before and after), drink 3 litres through the afternoon and evening. Include electrolytes in at least half of this fluid.
Monitor. Weigh yourself each morning before breakfast. A progressive drop in morning weight across camp days — 0.5-1 kg per day — is a clear indicator of cumulative dehydration. Increase fluid intake immediately.
The Day Off
Most structured camps include a rest day or a short recovery spin on day three or four. This is not a day to starve yourself because you are not riding. The metabolic debt from the preceding days is still being repaid. Your body is synthesising protein, rebuilding damaged tissue, and restocking glycogen.
Eat a normal-to-high carbohydrate day. Stay hydrated. Nap if you can. The riders who treat rest day as a recovery investment come back stronger on day four. The riders who treat it as a diet day come back weaker.
The Practical Takeaway
A cycling training camp is the best thing you can do for your fitness all year — if you fuel it properly. That means eating more than you think you need, timing your recovery meal within 30-60 minutes of every ride, hydrating deliberately in warm climates, bringing your own on-bike nutrition, and treating dinner as a recovery meal rather than a celebration.
The camp is the stimulus. The nutrition is what turns that stimulus into adaptation. Get the fuelling right and you come home measurably fitter. Get it wrong and you come home tired, ill, and wondering what the point was.
Pack the gels. Mix the shakes. Hit the numbers. Everything else takes care of itself.
Planning a training camp and want it to count? The Roadman Cycling community is where serious amateurs plan, prepare, and come back faster — with the coaching to make every camp day matter.