“The optimal dose for performance is 3-6mg per kilo of body weight”
“Coffee culture is huge in cycling,” says Will Girling, head of nutrition at EF Education EasyPost. “Many of the team have their own Aeropress, and Rigoberto Urán even owns a coffee farm in Colombia and sometimes brings his own coffee along.” As professional athletes, every rider in the team hones the dose and timing of their caffeine hit to optimise its performance benefits by testing double espressos, gels and gum, with nutritionist Girling on hand for advice. But what about the rest of us? With the caffeine content of supermarket-sold beans and cafe-bought flat whites varying enormously, and caffeine metabolism being different in each individual, it can be hard to know how to squeeze the best performance hit from the beloved bean. So let’s get stuck into all things caffeine and cycling.
First up, the performance-boosting effects of coffee. As cyclists, we’re familiar with the rejuvenating buzz that comes from the mid-ride coffee, bringing an energy spike and the sense
