Race day nutrition plan for a 160km gran fondo

I'm doing my first gran fondo (160km, 2500m elevation) in 4 weeks and want to nail my nutrition plan. This is the longest I'll have ridden by about 40km.

My stats:

• FTP: 235W
• Target race power: ~180W (Zone 2 heavy, tempo on climbs)
• Estimated ride time: 5.5-6 hours
• Weight: 62kg

My current plan:

• Pasta dinner the night before
• Oatmeal + banana + coffee 3 hours before start
• On bike: 2x 750ml bottles/hour (one water, one mix), 1 gel every 30min
• Real food (rice cakes, banana) at feed zones

Questions:

1. How many carbs per hour should I target?
2. When do I start eating — from km 0 or wait?
3. Should I eat differently on climbs vs flats?
4. What about caffeine timing?

For a 5.5-6 hour effort at Zone 2/Tempo, you're looking at burning roughly 600-700 calories per hour. You can't absorb that much, but you should aim to replace as much as possible.

Carb target: 80-90g per hour (if you've trained your gut). If you haven't been practicing high-carb intake in training, start at 60g/hour and see how your stomach handles it.

Timing:

• Start eating within the first 15 minutes. By the time you feel hungry, you're already behind.
• Front-load slightly — eat a bit more in hours 1-3 when your gut is less stressed.

Climbs vs flats:

• On climbs, your core compresses and gut blood flow decreases. Switch to liquid nutrition (gels, drink mix) on climbs.
• Save solid food (rice cakes, bars) for flat/downhill sections when you can digest more easily.

Caffeine:

• 200mg at the start (your morning coffee)
• 100mg at the 3-hour mark (caffeinated gel)
• 100mg at the 4.5-hour mark if you need a boost for the final push

Don't try anything new on race day. Practice this exact plan on your next long ride.

+1 to everything Emma said. I'd add:

Don't forget sodium. At 6 hours, electrolyte depletion is a real risk, especially if it's warm. Add 500-700mg sodium per hour via your drink mix or salt tabs. I use Precision Hydration 1000 in one bottle and plain water in the other.

Real food is your friend on rides this long. Gels every 30 min for 6 hours will give you GI distress. Mix it up:

• Gels for hard efforts and climbs
• Rice cakes or PB&J sandwiches for steady sections
• Fig bars are excellent — easy to eat, good carb density

My nutrition plan for 160km:

• Bottle 1: 80g carb drink mix + electrolytes
• Bottle 2: Water
• Back pockets: 6 gels, 4 rice cakes, 2 fig bars
• Feed station: banana + refill bottles

@Ana — 4 weeks is plenty of time to train your gut! Start at 60g/hour on your next long ride, then increase by 10g/hour each week. By race day you should be comfortable at 80g.

Key gut-training tips:

1. Practice during hard efforts, not just easy rides (gut stress is higher at intensity)
2. Mix sources: glucose + fructose in a 2:1 ratio allows higher absorption than either alone
3. If you get GI issues, back off and try again next ride

For cramps — definitely add sodium. SaltStick caps are convenient. Take one every 45-60min from the start. Don't wait for cramps to begin.

This is incredibly helpful, thank you both.

I haven't been practicing high-carb intake in training — I've been doing about 40-50g/hour on my long rides. Should I ramp it up in the next 4 weeks? Or is that too late to train the gut?

Also, the sodium point is important — I'm a heavy sweater and have had cramps on rides over 3 hours before.