Team BDM BTZ is one of the best marathon speed skating teams at the moment with several marathon victories this year they also became Dutch natural ice champion last month. The team consists of 4 strong women and has been riding our products for several years. Below they describe how they handle sports nutrition during a 200km natural ice race.
In the absence of natural ice in the Netherlands, we, team BDM-BTZ, travel every year to the Austrian Weissensee and Swedish Lulea to run our natural ice races. Races over 40, 60, 80, 100 and 200 kilometers. An important aspect, of course, is the nutrition before, during and after the races. On this we can rely for years on the products of BYE Nutrition.
The nutrition plan
For each race we have a nutrition plan. This includes the number of laps ridden, time indication and when the riders should address what. To come to a nutrition plan there are several aspects we take into account:
- Length of race, determines how many grams of carbohydrates you need. Longer race, more carbohydrates than shorter race.
- Temperature, races can be run between -20 and 0 degrees. The warmer the more humidity.
- Minimize water, schedule so that minimal moisture comes in. Peeing during races is a challenge in itself and you want to keep this to a minimum.
- Riders' wishes, some prefer solid food (bars), others prefer liquid (gels).
The race day
The groomers prepare everything as much as possible a few hours before the race. Drinks (Endurance and Isotonic) are made with hot water and taken to the ice in insulated tanks.
In the Alternative Elfstedentocht (200 kilometers), the menu (including hours before and after the race) per person on average looks like this:
- 1 liter of Bye Endurance Booster (nutrition)
- 1.6 liters Bye Isotonic Sports Drink (thirst quencher)
- 5 pcs. Bye Pro Fruit Gel
- 3 pcs. Bye Endurance bar
- 1 st. Bye Energy shot
- 3 times own choice rider (e.g. banana, mini march, etc)
- 1 small water bottle of Bye All-in-one Recovery drink
During warm up, riders start following race nutrition plan. After the starting gun, water bottles are tackled at set times. Caregivers also record who tackled when. During the race it can happen that circumstances change, race takes longer than expected or it is warmer/ colder than expected. Then you may have to adjust your plan slightly.
After hopefully a great race, it is necessary to replenish your body in the first two hours after the race. Important in this are carbohydrates and proteins that make your body recover faster and this is much needed because the next race is scheduled between 24 and 48 hours.
The importance of a good nutrition plan gives athletes peace of mind. After the competition, the plan is also evaluated just as any points for improvement are incorporated into the next plan. The great performance we achieve on natural ice
