Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) is a mountain bike race that consists of lap racing around a short circuit. XCO requires extensive mountain biking skills and fitness. This sport entered the Olympics in 1996 and often covers a distance of 4-10 kilometres in length and laps between 5-7. 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes XCO race involves a variety of terrains with multiple climbs, rock garden, jumps, and descents.
Nutrition is necessary for a cyclist, as it that acts as a fuel to maximise his or her’s athletic performance. When it comes to the nutritional needs of cyclists, carbohydrates play a major role. These energy-giving nutrients are required at every stage, be it during training, pre-race for carb-loading, while cycling to keep the energy levels up and post-race for restocking glycogen stores. Therefore, sustained blood glucose concentrations are pivotal to reduce and delay fatigue.
Carbohydrate supplementation while exercising, has been said to improve endurance performance by balancing euglycemia by sparing the muscle glycogen stores.
The performance increases when carbohydrates are consumed prior to and during a race. In order to consume enough calories, cyclists usually opt for sports drinks, isotonic drinks, and electrolytes to avoid any abdominal distress. These beverages ensure an adequate supply of carbohydrates and reduce the prospect of dehydration.
Snergy is a one-stop solution for a XCO cyclist. It is an orange-flavoured instant energy drink enriched with multi-source carbohydrates. Studies have shown that isotonic drinks are perfect for cyclists to deliver a reasonable amount of energy. They are useful for short-duration but high-intensity exercises providing sufficient carbs and warding off dehydration. To prevent cyclists from bonking, Snergy is an ideal isotonic hydration drink suitable for mountain bikers. Along with energy, bikers are also required to maintain their electrolyte levels to prevent muscle cramping. Mountain bikers tend to lose electrolytes due to sweating which increases the body’s core temperature and heart rate. As a result, the momentum of cycling, stroke volume, and cognitive functioning decrease.
Snergy being rich in electrolytes like sodium, potassium, magnesium, and chloride along with vitamin B6 and B12, replaces the losses incurred by sweating, without causing any gastrointestinal disturbances. One serving of Snergy is sufficient to help a mountain biker going for an approx. 2 hours, keeping in mind certain governing factors like intensity, duration of a race, temperature, humidity level of the environment, the physique and fitness level of a biker.
What makes Snergy unique from other options available, is the presence of two special ingredients - taurine and inositol. Taurine is an amino acid which acts as a performance booster for XCO cyclists. Supplementation with taurine benefits mountain bikers as it reduces oxidative stress serves as a powerful anti-oxidant and enhances a cyclist’s athletic performance enabling him/her too passes through a gnarl.
With such high carbohydrate intake, a mountain biker would want his/her body to effectively utilise the same without any resistance. Taurine and inositol present in Snergy influences insulin sensitivity positively and reduces or prevents its resistance. A mountain biker undergoes severe performance pressure and stress especially during events or a race. Snergy serves as a supreme energy drink for bikers as it assists in coping with stress, symptoms of depression and relaxes the nerves of the brain due to the presence of inositol. Therefore, Snergy addresses psychological and physical needs of a cyclist.
From the above blog, it is clearly evident that Snergy is an epitome of energy drinks for XCO cyclists. Its refreshing orange flavour and the balanced proportion of all the nutrients is perfect for addressing the energy and hydration issues that can affect their performance. Maintaining hydration and electrolytic levels play a significant role during training and competitive journey of a XCO cyclist. Snergy fits in perfectly when giving an additional kick in meeting the desirable goal.
REFERENCES -
Hays, Arnaud., Devys, Simon., Bertin, Denis., Marquet, Laurie-Anne., Brisswalter, Jeanwick., (2018) Understanding the Physiological Requirements of the Mountain Bike Cross-Country Olympic Race Format, Frontiers in Psychology.10.3389,fphys,2018,01062.
Metcalfe, John., The Physiology and Bioenergetics of Ultraendurance Mountain Bike Racing. (2011) University of Central Lancashire. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/
Apostagno, Ben., Posthumus, Dr Mike., (2017) The science of cross-country mountain biking, Bikehub. Retrieved from https://www.bikehub.co.za/
