nutrition for staged races

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
I'm considering a 3 day race in Mongolia this summer if times work out with vacation and my job. It's a Mtb endurance type event totaling 150 miles across the 3 days. It doesn't look technical at all, but it does look hot there in July. I'll ask more about training for a staged race later but I'm guessing nutrition is something I'll need to consider. Is there a good resource to get started? I'm not a competitive rider but this time I'd like to get together a training plan and make sure I'm taking in enough calories and such.
 

1speed

Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
I'm considering a 3 day race in Mongolia this summer if times work out with vacation and my job. It's a Mtb endurance type event totaling 150 miles across the 3 days. It doesn't look technical at all, but it does look hot there in July. I'll ask more about training for a staged race later but I'm guessing nutrition is something I'll need to consider. Is there a good resource to get started? I'm not a competitive rider but this time I'd like to get together a training plan and make sure I'm taking in enough calories and such.

You're talking about the Ghengis Khan race, correct? The number of calories you take in is important, but something you really want to be aware of over there is that the available options for food in general are very different than a standard Western diet. There's a lot of dairy and protein. So you may want to consider more than just race fuel here -- you may want to think about bringing some food you can eat at other times to keep your stomach okay for three days.

The Mongolia Bike Challenge (6 day stage race) is a bucket list race for me, so I've been following it since it started a few years ago and the one thing I've noticed is that every single year there are a few Westerners who get pretty sick. That would never make me say it's not worth it, but it will make me cautious if I go some day.

This sounds like a pretty awesome adventure! Best of luck to you!
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
You're talking about the Ghengis Khan race, correct? The number of calories you take in is important, but something you really want to be aware of over there is that the available options for food in general are very different than a standard Western diet. There's a lot of dairy and protein. So you may want to consider more than just race fuel here -- you may want to think about bringing some food you can eat at other times to keep your stomach okay for three days.

The Mongolia Bike Challenge (6 day stage race) is a bucket list race for me, so I've been following it since it started a few years ago and the one thing I've noticed is that every single year there are a few Westerners who get pretty sick. That would never make me say it's not worth it, but it will make me cautious if I go some day.

This sounds like a pretty awesome adventure! Best of luck to you!

I've looked at both, and based on my fitness level the Ghengis Khan would be a better choice at the moment.
I'm in Asia roughly twice a year so I figured to make a goal for myself. Last year I did one stage of 5 at the Kunming GranFondo and really liked the vibe. I'm not an avid/competitive rider at any stretch, but if it gets me riding more....

This is my bucket list race in China, they are having the inaugural event in June.
14 days to race from Shanghai to Chengdu (~2200 miles)
http://www.sportive.com/cycling/527420/cross-china-race-new-3500km-bike-race-set-for-june-2017

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