Cycling nutrition: understanding Friel’s five stages and putting the numbers in context
Learn the nutritional framework of the 2009 edition, its metrics and the points that need updating for contemporary cycling.
The chapter organizes food as part of the training: availability before the session, fueling during and after recovery. The merit of this structure is to remember that the nutritional need changes according to the task and the time until the next demand.
At the same time, Friel presents food preferences and explanations of 2009 that should not be automatically converted into current consensus. Understanding what he proposes requires preserving this difference.
The five stages of the model
| Step | Function in author's proposal |
|---|---|
| Before training | Increase fuel availability to start the session |
| During | Provide liquids and energy according to duration, intensity and tolerance |
| Right after. | Start replacement, especially after demanding tasks |
| Prolonged initial recovery | Continue feeding for a duration of effort |
| Until the next session | Meet the needs of the rest of the day and prepare the next demand |
The stages are not five mandatory meals. They represent functions. If there are two close sessions, some overlap. Routine needs to consider the actual sequence of work.
What do the edition numbers mean?
Friel cites 200–400 kcal, predominantly from carbohydrate, about two hours before a session. For intake during longer efforts, he presents a broad range of 120–500 kcal per hour, linked to the athlete’s context and the demands of the task.
If these calories came exclusively from carbohydrates, they would correspond approximately to 30–125 g/h, using 4 kcal per gram. Conversion is explanatory: it does not transform the entire historical range into current recommendation or determines the reader's need.
The amplitude shows why informing only calories can hide relevant questions. How much comes from carbohydrates? In what volume of drink? Can the athlete tolerate and access what was planned?
Subsequent contextualization: organizing for duration and execution
As general guidance, the AIS presents 30–60 g/h for exercise lasting 1 to 2.5 hours and up to 90 g/h beyond approximately 2.5–3 hours, using carbohydrate mixtures for high intakes. It also emphasizes practicing the strategy in training. These are general guidelines, not mandatory targets for every session. AIS — Sports drinks.
This reference helps contextualize the edition, without intending to summarize the entire current scientific discussion on high doses.
Getting it back early doesn't mean losing everything after 30 minutes.
Friel emphasizes the first thirty minutes and proposes combinations of carbohydrates and proteins. The useful idea is to prevent the lack of organization from prolonging a deficit after a demanding session, especially when there will be new demand nearby.
The formulation of a rigid window should not be transformed into a limit after which recovery ceases to occur. The interval until the next workout and total feeding also matter. In chapter 18, this distinction reappears when discussing recovery as a process.
Weight, food quality and limits of approach
The work favors certain foods and uses arguments of acidity and alkalinity. These explanations belong to the author's view, are not adopted here as a demonstration that a food dangerously acidifies blood or determines muscle loss.
It is also necessary to prevent the search for lower body mass from compromising the preparation. The IOC consensus of 2023 associates low energy availability problematic health and performance damage in women and men. ED Consensus.
Editorial example: a useful calculation does not solve the whole strategy
An individual plane predicts 60 g/h. A drink provides 30 g and a gel other 30 g. The sum is correct, but the plan still needs to respond when consuming, how to transport, what volume of liquid is pertinent and whether the combination has been tolerated.
If the drink changes concentration to accommodate more carbohydrate, the amount of liquid should not be automatically adjusted just to close the energy calculation. They are related but different needs.
The useable teaching is to align feeding to the task and training sequence. The chapter offers a structure for thinking; numbers and choices need to be interpreted according to their individual time, evidence and adequacy.
Reference: FRIEL, Joe. The Cyclist’s Training Bible. 4th ed. VeloPress, 2009. Chapter 16, “Fuel”. Pages in the PDF file: 355–386. A selective synthesis written in our own words. Examples labeled as editorial are Enduran-se’s own examples; they are not additional cases reported by the author.
Cada um no seu ritmo. Juntos no caminho.