THE TRUTH ABOUT HIGH CARB FOR CYCLISTS (It’s Not What You Think) | Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast 581
Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast - Presented by TrainerRoad
TrainerRoad
4.9 • 4.6K Ratings
🗓️ 9 April 2026
⏱️ 77 minutes
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Summary
🍝 Free Cycling Nutrition Calculator! 👉 https://trainerroad.cc/cyclingnutritioncalculator
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// TOPICS COVERED
(00:00:00) Welcome & Episode Overview
(00:00:58) Listener Question: Stage Race Nutrition Strategy
(00:02:32) Post-Race Recovery & Carb Timing Between Stages
(00:07:39) What to Eat, Avoid & Hydration Strategies
(00:20:24) Caffeine Strategy for Multi-Day Races
(00:22:00) Pro Stage Race Routine & Recovery Habits
(00:25:13) Research Review: Recovery Nutrition & Timing Myths
(00:30:03) How Much Carbs You Need (and Why It’s So Hard)
(00:35:13) Glycogen Limits: Why You Can’t Fully Recover Overnight
(00:42:02) Why Intentional Refueling Matters for Performance
(00:52:58) Calorie Deficits, RED-S & Performance Risks
(01:00:11) Energy Availability vs. Calorie Counting
(01:04:51) High-Carb Fueling for Better Training & Body Composition
In this episode, Alex Larson and Coach Jonathan Lee break down the science and real-world application of nutrition strategies to maximize cycling performance, especially during demanding stage races. They dive into what actually matters for recovery, highlighting that while the so-called “anabolic window” isn’t as narrow as once believed, prioritizing immediate post-ride carbs, protein, and hydration still plays a critical role in replenishing glycogen and supporting adaptation. The conversation covers practical fueling tactics like high-carb intake (often harder than athletes expect), the importance of frequent meals, and how to avoid common pitfalls with fat, fiber, and excess sodium during multi-day events. They also explore emerging research on glycogen replenishment limits, energy availability, and how underfueling can silently cap performance gains over time. The episode wraps with actionable advice for building sustainable habits, simplifying race-day nutrition, and ensuring your training is fully supported so you can get faster with TrainerRoad.
// RESOURCES MENTIONED
- Free Cycling Nutrition Calculator: https://trainerroad.cc/cyclingnutritioncalculator
- Alex Larson’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexlarsonnutrition
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Nutritional Strategies to Improve Post-exercise Recovery and Subsequent Exercise Performance: A Narrative Review. Naderi, et al. 2025: https://trainerroad.cc/naderi2025
Carbohydrate intake of 10 g/kg body mass rapidly replenishes liver, but not muscle glycogen contents, during12 h of post-exercise recovery in well-trained cyclists. Fuchs, at al., 2025: https://trainerroad.cc/Fuchs2025
From Food Supplements to Functional Foods: Emerging Perspectives on Post-Exercise Recovery Nutrition. Wang, et al. 2024: https://trainerroad.cc/Wang2024
Liver before muscle: Tissue-specific glycogen recovery, with a view toward sex differences and hormonal regulation. Stickel, et al. 2025: https://trainerroad.cc/Stickel2025
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Ask a Cycling Coach podcast presented by Train Road today. We are going to talk all about why you aren't getting faster on the nutrition side of things and how that's affecting your cycling performance. And we have Alex from Alex Larson nutrition with us. Hey, Alex. Good to have you. Good to be back. We reviewed some studies prior to this that have been published within the last 24 months. One of these I had the Naderi study. I had it |
| 0:22.5 | bookmarked for a long time and hadn't read it until maybe three months ago, then made a note |
| 0:28.3 | that I wanted to cover it with somebody. Then now we're finally getting to cover it with you because |
| 0:31.7 | you got two great questions that directly cover this one. We also went into some other studies that |
| 0:36.2 | I think are going to be really interesting. You can find those in the links below. We encourage you to read them so then you can understand the research for yourself. Average people reading research is a very good thing. And if you can't understand it, go ask Claude. He'll help you understand it. So, um, okay, uh, let's just read the questions first. Is that cool, Alex? And then we can kind of... |
| 0:55.0 | That's what I was thinking, too. Let's read us. |
| 0:57.0 | Cool. Okay. First one came from Rob, and I'm just going to read both of them because they kind of like, it's all going to blend together. |
| 1:03.8 | Rob said, I've seen a lot of conflicting posts about recovery windows on Instagram that are claiming to cite research and be scientific. |
| 1:10.9 | One group seems to think that recovery windows are completely irrelevant, and it's all about |
| 1:15.0 | absolute calories. |
| 1:16.3 | The other seems to think that if you miss the recovery window, you miss out on the gains. |
| 1:20.0 | Can you clarify? |
| 1:21.4 | And then Anthony says, hey, coach, is a nutrition question for you. |
| 1:24.9 | I'm looking to do my first stage race in years later this |
| 1:27.8 | summer, and I've realized the old school approaches probably aren't going to work anymore. |
| 1:31.9 | Most pressing is how I approach nutrition after stages and throughout the race. Races start at |
| 1:37.4 | 8.30 a.m. and I should be done around 1130 to 1230 each day. The race will be three days with one |
| 1:43.5 | stage each day. I wonder if they three days with one stage each day. |
| 1:44.3 | I wonder if they're doing the trans Rockies is doing a race down New Mexico, or maybe it's |
| 1:49.1 | single track six. |
| 1:50.0 | Those are cool races, by the way. |
| 1:52.8 | I'll be camping out of my van and able to cook with a hot plate or microwave and have a |
... |
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