FUEL SMARTER, RIDE FASTER

Why Your Stomach Shuts Down on Long Rides (and How to Fix It)

Three hours in, the gut rebels. Nausea, bloating, the gel you can't face swallowing. GI distress ends more long rides than empty legs do. Here's what actually causes your stomach to shut down — and the fixes that keep it taking fuel.

Homemade Race Fuel for Cyclists: DIY Drink Mix, Gels and Rice Cakes

Branded gels and mixes work, but at a couple of dollars a hit they make a big ride cost a fortune. You can make your own drink mix, gels and rice cakes that hit 90g an hour for pennies. Here's the ratio that matters and the recipes that work.

How Many Carbs Should a Cyclist Eat Per Day?

Carbs per hour on the bike gets all the attention. Carbs per day off it is where most amateurs quietly wreck their training. Here's the daily carbohydrate a cyclist actually needs — in grams per kilo, matched to your training load.

The World Tour Fuelling Reset: What Sam Impey Taught Me

The World Tour nutritionist who fuels Pidcock and Ganna has a simple starting point for amateurs: 60 grams of carbs an hour, one gram a minute, regardless of intensity. Here's how Sam Impey thinks about fuelling — and why eating more is usually the upgrade.

Getting Lean Without Losing Power: The Tim Podlogar Method

A carbohydrate scientist who fuels a World Tour team explains why most amateur weight-loss attempts backfire — and how to actually get lean without losing the watts. Modest deficits, smarter fuelling windows, and the carb ratio the pros use.

Under, Over, Optimal: Uri Carlson on Getting Fuelling Right

More carbs isn't always better. Dietitian Uri Carlson explains why over-fuelling pulls water into your gut and leaves you sloshing — and the simple half-your-calories-burned method for finding your own optimal fuelling range.

Bonking in Cycling: What Actually Happens and How to Prevent It

The bonk is your brain protecting your blood sugar, not your muscles running out of fuel. Here's what actually happens when you hit the wall — hepatic vs muscular glycogen, fat oxidation, the central governor — and how to make sure it never happens to you again.

Electrolytes and Sweat Rate for Cyclists: How Much Sodium You Actually Need

Sodium loss varies more than fourfold between riders — which is why generic hydration advice fails. Here's how to measure your own sweat rate, work out how much sodium you actually lose, and build a bottle that matches it.

Gut Training for Cyclists: How to Absorb 90-120g of Carbs Per Hour

The 120g-per-hour numbers you read about pro fuelling are real — but they're a trained capacity, not a default. Here's how the gut actually adapts, the protocol that gets you there, and why most amateurs never tolerate more than 60g/hr.

Post-Ride Recovery Nutrition: What the Science Actually Says

The "30-minute window" is mostly bro-science — but recovery nutrition still matters enormously on the days it counts. Here's what the research actually shows about carbs, protein and timing, and how to tell an urgent refuel from one you can take your time over.

Creatine for Cyclists: I Tried It for 30 Days and Here's What the Data Showed

The cyclist's creatine fear is real — weight gain will kill climbing. My 30-day test showed sprint power up 5% and body weight up 1.5kg. Whether it's worth it depends on your event profile, not your fear.

Nutrition12 min read

Fuelling for Cycling: What World Tour Nutritionists Actually Recommend (And What They've Changed Their Minds On)

The 120 grams per hour pro fuelling message has migrated to amateurs who can't handle it. Dr Sam Impey, who works with Pidcock and Ganna, says it's probably hurting you — and the data from my own three-ride experiment agrees.

Race Week Carb Loading for Cyclists: The Protocol That Actually Works

Most cyclists either carb load wrong or don't do it at all. The modern protocol is shorter, simpler, and more effective than the old depletion method — and it starts 36 hours out, not a week before.

Nutrition6 min read

Fuel for the Work Required: The FFTWR Method That Changed How I Coach Nutrition

You don't eat the same thing on a rest day as you do before a five-hour sportive. That's the entire premise of Fuel for the Work Required — and once you get it, nutrition stops being confusing and starts being a system.

Recovery11 min read

The Post-Ride Recovery Window for Cyclists Over 40: What the First Two Hours Actually Decide

The popular "30-minute anabolic window" was always overstated. The real recovery window is more like two hours, and for masters cyclists what you do inside it decides how the next ride feels — not the day after, but three days later.

Nutrition11 min read

Pre-Ride Breakfast for Cyclists: What to Eat, When, and Why Most Cyclists Get It Wrong

The breakfast before a long ride decides how the last hour feels. Get it right and you arrive at hour three with the legs still firing. Get it wrong and you spend two hours digging out of a hole that didn't need to exist.

Nutrition Periodisation for Cyclists: Base, Build, and Race

Eating the same way year-round is the same mistake as training the same way year-round. Here's how carbohydrate, protein, and total energy availability should change across base, build, and race phases — and why most amateur cyclists get the build phase exactly wrong.

Race-Day Fuelling: A 24-Hour Timeline From Wake-Up to Finish

Most amateur fuelling failures aren't about what the rider eats — they're about when. Here's the hour-by-hour timeline from race-morning wake-up through the finish, calibrated to four- to eight-hour amateur events and the body of a rider with a job.

Prof Tim Spector on the Gut, Cycling Performance, and Why 99% Get It Wrong

The gut microbiome is more powerful than your genes for weight, mood, and longevity. Prof Tim Spector explains what cyclists are getting wrong — and the simple fixes that actually move the needle.

40 Grams Of Protein Before Bed: The Cycling Recovery Lever Most Amateurs Skip

Two decades of research, a probe in the belly fat, and a string of trials on real athletes. The verdict on a 30 to 40 gram protein feed before bed is the same in every study. It does not make you fat. It might make you faster.

Creatine for Cyclists: What 30 Days on 5 Grams Actually Did

I spent ten years telling cyclists creatine was for bodybuilders. Then I ran the experiment myself. Five grams a day, no loading phase, thirty days. The sprint numbers were not what I expected.

Creatine for Cyclists: What 30 Days on 5 Grams Actually Did

5 grams a day for 30 days, no loading phase, $15 a tub. Sprint power up 5%. Climbing weight up 1.5kg. The honest cyclist's read on creatine.

Dr. David Dunne on the Roadman Podcast: Why Most Cyclists Get Race Weight Wrong

Most serious amateurs train 8 to 12 hours a week and still carry 3 to 7 kilos they would rather not. Dr David Dunne, the nutritionist behind INEOS, EF and Uno-X, explains why the "lighter is faster" framing is the problem, not the solution.

Nutrition12 min read

The Omerta Is Busted: What Hannah Grant Wants Amateurs To Stop Doing With Food

Most club riders carry five to ten kilos of fixable weight. Cutting it is not a starvation problem. Hannah Grant has been inside the World Tour kitchens long enough to know which lever you actually pull.

Nutrition3 min read

Amateur Cyclist Fuelling Benchmarks Report 2026 (Coming Q3 2026)

The third Roadman annual report — what amateur cyclists are actually fuelling on the bike, what the carb-per-hour ceiling looks like outside the WorldTour, and where the avoidable bonks are happening. Publishing Q3 2026. Get notified.

Nutrition12 min read

How Much Carbohydrate Per Hour for Cyclists?

The honest answer is between 30 and 120 grams per hour — and the 90g/hr figure most amateurs quote is wrong for half of them. Here is how to set yours by ride duration, intensity and gut training.

Nutrition11 min read

Cycling Nutrition Plan for a 100-Mile Sportive

100 miles is the distance where amateurs blow up. Not from fitness. From fuel. Here is the hour-by-hour nutrition plan that survives contact with the back half of a sportive.

Nutrition11 min read

Tim Spector on Gut Microbiome for Cyclists: Why Calorie Counting Fails

Tim Spector has run trials, he co-founded Zoe, and he's the most cited voice in nutrition science right now. His position is that the calorie is the wrong unit. For amateur cyclists trying to lose body fat without losing power, this is the most important piece of the puzzle.

What a Michelin-Star Chef Knows About Cycling Nutrition (That Most Riders Miss)

Most cyclists train like pros and eat like students. Alan Murchison, the Michelin-starred chef behind Specialized Factory Racing, has the simplest fix going — and it has nothing to do with another macro target.

Best Roadman Episodes About Nutrition

The cycling nutrition episodes that hold up across re-listens. Pro fuelling, the carbs-per-hour conversation, and the honest version of what most amateurs are getting wrong.

Body Recomposition for Cyclists: Lose Fat, Keep Power

You don't have to choose between losing weight and getting faster. Body recomposition is slower but preserves everything you've built.

Protein Timing for Cyclists: When and How Much

Most cyclists under-eat protein. Here's how much you need, when to eat it, and why timing matters more than total for endurance athletes.

What Sports Scientists Say About Cycling Nutrition

We compiled the nutrition advice from every sports scientist and nutritionist who's been on the podcast. Here's what they all agree on.

How a Pro Fuelled 800km Across Badlands — The Complete Strategy

800km across the Spanish desert on a gravel bike. Here's exactly what the fuelling plan looked like — hour by hour, checkpoint by checkpoint.

Fasted vs Fuelled Cycling: The Honest 2026 Comparison

Fasted riding has a real physiological basis, but it's also the single most common self-inflicted wound in amateur training. When it works and when it doesn't.

Community9 min read

MTB Nutrition: How to Actually Fuel on the Trail

MTB fuelling is harder than road fuelling. Rough terrain, limited storage, and the fact that you cannot take your hand off the bars for three minutes at a time. Here's how to actually do it.

Triathlon Bike Nutrition: How to Fuel the Bike Leg Without Wrecking the Run

The bike leg is where you either fuel the run or blow it. Here are the carb targets that actually work for 70.3 and Ironman — and the exact timing that keeps your gut working when others start walking.

Nutrition5 min read

How Much Protein Do Cyclists Need? Timing, Sources, and Recovery

Cyclists obsess over carbs but neglect protein at their peril. Without adequate protein, your muscles can't repair, adapt, or get stronger. Here's exactly how much you need and when.

Caffeine and Cycling Performance: The Dosing Protocol That Works

Caffeine is the most widely used performance enhancer in cycling — and one of the most evidence-backed. But most riders use it wrong. Here's the protocol that actually works.

I Lost 7kg Eating More Food Than Ever Before (Here's the Framework)

The cycling internet says weight loss is calories in versus calories out. That advice is outdated, incomplete, and it's actually making you slower. Here's what actually worked — eating more.

The Fasted Riding Myth: Why Riding on Empty Is Making You Slower

You've been told that riding fasted burns more fat. The research says it makes you slower, hungrier, and no leaner. What to do instead.

Nutrition5 min read

In-Ride Nutrition for Cyclists: How Much to Eat and When

Most cyclists underfuel on the bike. Here's exactly how many carbs per hour you need, how much fluid, and the strategy for every ride duration.

Energy Gels for Cycling: How to Choose, Use, and Not Wreck Your Stomach

Energy gels are the most convenient fuelling option on the bike — when used correctly. Get it wrong and you're spending the rest of the ride looking for a hedge. Here's how to get it right.

Body Composition for Cyclists: Why the Scale Doesn't Tell the Full Story

Your scale weight is one number. Your body composition is the number that actually determines how fast you climb. Here's how to think about it properly.

I Tried Eating Like Pidcock for 60 Days — Here's What Happened

Pro cyclists eat differently to how most people imagine. More food, better timing, and a completely different relationship with carbohydrates.

Race Day Nutrition for Cyclists: What to Eat Before, During, and After

Your race day nutrition starts 48 hours before the start line. Get it wrong, and no amount of fitness will save you. Here's the complete timeline for fuelling a cycling race.