Tadej Poga\u010dar<\/a> is among the majority of pros who squeeze down 120 grams of carbohydrate \u2013 approximately 500 calories \u2013 per hour to fuel their intensity of the modern Tour de France.<\/p>\n That\u2019s maybe 50 percent more than riders enjoyed when Chris Froome ruled all.<\/p>\n This high-carb \u201crevolution\u201d is seen as the biggest driver<\/a> of the high-speed, ultra-aggressive modern Tour de France.<\/p>\n Energy reserves are endlessly full in a race that\u2019s becoming an eating contest. Poga\u010dar can attack 12km from the bottom of the Hautacam<\/a> without even a thought for \u201cthe bonk.\u201d<\/p>\n The modern fueling mindset applies to training too.<\/p>\n Pros roll out for high-intensity training rides with jersey pockets bulging full of energy gels. The super-carb strategy lets them hit intervals harder, recover faster, and turn up to race ready to destroy every chapter of the strategy manual.<\/p>\n So the question is \u2013 if Pogi and the Tour de France peloton are feeding at 120, should you?<\/p>\n Not every day is a 120 day at the Tour de France As Visma-Lease a Bike nutritionist Gabriel Martins says, the answer is \u2026 \u201cit depends.\u201d<\/p>\n Just like how you shouldn\u2019t switch to tiny cranks purely \u201ccoz Poga\u010dar does it,\u201d<\/a> you shouldn\u2019t go eat five gels per hour, either.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s not jump on the bandwagon of everybody trying 120 grams or 150 grams because we hear Tadej or Jonas are doing it,\u201d Martins said.<\/p>\n \u201cJust because they benefit, not everybody does.\u201d<\/p>\n Martins has finessed fueling strategies for riders like Jonas Vingegaard, Matteo Jorgenson, and Wout van Aert.<\/p>\n He points out that not even all the super-caliber athletes under his watch eat that much.<\/p>\n \u201c120 grams is seen as the benchmark, and it gets a lot of talk. But not every rider can tolerate that, and maybe not oxidise it, either,\u201d Martins told Velo. \u201cEven for our riders in the team, some are able to take more, some less.<\/p>\n \u201cFueling needs to be an individualized approach, and it can be something that takes time to get right,\u201d he said. \u201cYou cannot just jump in and do 110, 120, or whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n And even for the high carb outliers \u2013 Poga\u010dar, Victor Campenaerts, and Mathieu van der Poel are known to go 120 and beyond<\/a> \u2013 not every day is a hyper fuel day.<\/p>\n Even at this record-speed Tour de France, the old maxim to \u201cfuel the work performed\u201d still holds true.<\/p>\n Poga\u010dar probably slammed more than 120 grams of carbohydrate per hour before he barnstormed up the Hautacam at 6.7w\/kg for 35 minutes<\/a>\u00a0and blew up the Tour.<\/p>\n The Athletic<\/a> reported Ben Healy hit a rate of 116g on the day of his stage 6 winning raid.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, various teams told us that their athletes didn\u2019t go far beyond 80g per hour during the Tour\u2019s snoozy sprint weekend<\/a> on stages 8 and 9.<\/p>\n All that\u2019s to say, fueling is different for every individual, every day.<\/p>\n High carb for high power But back to the question.<\/p>\n If the \u201ccarbohydrate revolution\u201d has made the Tour de France insanely fast, will hooking up on the high-carb IV be equally effective for me?<\/p>\n Won\u2019t a gutload of gels propel me to group ride and Strava segment immortality?<\/p>\n Sort of \u2026 to a point.<\/p>\n And it all depends how hard you can push.<\/p>\n The higher the power outputs, the higher the energy demand.<\/p>\n Most studies suggest riders need to replenish around 50 percent of the kilojoules they burn to sustain the most grueling days on the bike.<\/p>\n Strava data suggests Jonas Rickaert burned around 4,700kJ for the duration of his three-and-a-half-hour, 400-watt, five-puke attack<\/a> with MVDP. That\u2019s an hourly burn of close to 1,400kJ, which works out to a gut-busting 175g carb per hour for optimal feeding.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a strong, average-size amateur with diamonds in their legs might burn 800kJ per hour during a spicy group ride. That\u2019s a 100-gram optimal replenishment rate.<\/p>\n Visma staffer Martins said very few amateurs ever get anywhere near three-digit fueling \u2013 whether by accident or design.<\/p>\n \u201cMost amateurs I see can benefit from increasing their ride intake if they\u2019re pushing hard,\u201d Martins told Velo.<\/p>\n \u201cI still see a lot of under consumption, or riders intentionally avoiding gels and drinks so they can eat as many cakes as possible at the coffee stop.\u201d<\/p>\n Martins suggests that watt-chasing weekend warriors stay out of the weeds of kJ calculations and whatnot, and simply aim for \u201cmore.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven 90 grams per hour would be a huge improvement for most recreational riders,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom my experience, only the most committed are doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s also important to note that products with a dual source of sugars are needed to successfully achieve a higher-carb approach. Sadly, candies and cokes won\u2019t cut it.<\/p>\n Most gels, drinks, and chews now use glucose-to-fructose ratios of 2:1 or 1:0.8 to shuttle carbohydrate through the gut at racing pace.<\/p>\n More is better, but more isn\u2019t always more So \u201cmore\u201d is \u201cgood\u201d when it comes to mid-ride carbohydrate intake.<\/p>\n But there can be too much of a bad thing.<\/p>\n \u201cOverfueling\u201d is simply a costly waste of gels.<\/p>\n For those without an untrained stomach, it can cause G.I. distress. At the pro level, it throws meticulously calculated nutrient targets out of whack.<\/p>\n And for most, there\u2019s a limit to how much glycogen a working muscle can immediately use.<\/p>\n Tim Podlogar works with Tudor Pro Cycling, and has authored numerous studies on high-carb fueling<\/a> and its impacts on the metabolism of fat.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think we have any data to suggest that 120 grams of carbohydrate per hour will improve performance over 90 grams, let alone higher than 120 grams,\u201d Podlogar told Velo.<\/p>\n \u201cThe majority can probably oxidize 100 or 120 grams, but very few can go higher than this.\u201d<\/p>\n Podlogar went on to explain that the crazy carb totals that spill out of the most grueling blocks of the Tour de France are to sustain riders off the bike as much as on it.<\/p>\n \u201cThe very high intakes you see allow riders to stay in energy balance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very difficult to ingest enough calories before and after the race to cover daily needs,\u201d he said. \u201cEating more on the bike helps with that, which also improves day-to-day recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n That principle extrapolates beyond racing.<\/p>\n Pros train with hyper-carb strategies to both max-out their intervals and sustain a weekly training volume that might be two or three times that of us Average Joes.<\/p>\n How to actually do it: Art, experience, surprisingly little science So what is the magic number for us \u201cnormies?\u201d<\/p>\n 60 grams per hour? 80 grams? 90?<\/p>\n Even in the super-sophisticated WorldTour, finding an optimal fueling strategy is a mix of art and science. Without the use of costly, time-consuming lab tests, it\u2019s an endless trial-and-error that gives different results for everyone.<\/p>\n Nutritionists and trainers collaborate on riders\u2019 programs so \u201cgut training\u201d protocol<\/a> can be incorporated into the most intense workouts.<\/p>\n These high-carb sessions prime the digestive system to absorb as much sugar as possible and inform fuel plans for racing.<\/p>\n But as Michael Woods recently discovered, there\u2019s no guarantee the guts will always cooperate with a high-carb approach.<\/p>\n
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Riders will aim for around 120g carb per hour, occasionally more, on the hardest days of the race. (Photo: Gruber Images \/ Velo)<\/p>\n
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Van der Poel and Rickaert blew up stage 9 of the Tour with their hyper-power long-bomb. (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/p>\n
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Tour riders are guzzling gutloads of gels and drinks to fuel a huge 24\/7 energy demand. (Photo: Gruber Images \/ Velo)<\/p>\n
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Racers push their carbohydrate threshold during specific \u2018gut training\u2019 workouts. (Photo: Gruber Images \/ Velo)<\/p>\n
![\"Tour](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Z8C_9822-2-720x364.jpg\")
Most amateurs can benefit from eating more on the bike \u2013 but how much more is different for everyone. (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/p>\n