Why use TORQ to fuel for a gravel event
Gravel racing has become the most engaging cycling event for riders who want an immersive drop bar adventure experience. If you love suffering and strategy, nothing compares to gravel bike racing.
More Features
We look at the electric mountain bikes from Cube and why a knobbly tyre bike might be your ideal bike for winter
You might pay to enter stage races, instead of being paid to race like a pro rider, but that doesn’t mean your training approach has to be any less scientific.
[Sponsored by TORQ]
Drop handlebars enable a frantic pace on flat sections because of their greater aero efficiency compared to flat bar mountain bikes. The unpredictable off-road terrain - loose gravel surfaces and singletrack sections – challenge bike handling skills.
- Going to a vegan diet for cycling: Everything you need to know about a plant based diet for riding
- Mountain bike nutrition - the art of training the gut and everything in between
- Cycling nutrition - what to eat on the bike and when
Gravel bikes are optimised for rolling and climbing speed off-road, with riders having to deal with the descending challenges by employing their bike-handling skills to compensate for a lack of suspension. It’s demanding and rewards the skilled, fit rider. Unsurprisingly, gravel bikes are a buoyant category in racing.
The difference with gravel racing
If you are preparing for a gravel bike stage race, like the new Dalby Grit event scheduled for June this year, is your nutrition strategy equal to the pace and challenge of gravel bike stage racing?
Don’t assume that you can transfer your drop bar road riding nutrition habits or that XC mountain bike fuelling plan and use it at a gravel stage race. Remember, you don’t have to deal with choking dust clouds on a road bike. And on your XC bike, the pace is ultimately lower, and nutrition needs differ from those of a gravel stage race.
YC_TORQ_-174.jpg, by Liam Mercer
Enter TORQ. The nutrition specialist that prioritises sustainable sourcing and performance when developing and creating products for gravel riders. Your needs during an event like the Dalby Grit are evident – manage carbohydrate depletion to sustain peak performance from start to finish, 110km later.
Gravel riders use an array of energy intakes to counter carbohydrate exhaustion. Depending on personal preference and what riders feel most comfortable handling and absorbing while on the gravel bike, these can be fluids or solids. TORQ has a scientifically formulated range of Energy Drinks, Gels, Bars and Jellies (each one being a TORQ unit containing 30g carbohydrate), which serve a gravel racer’s nutrition needs without legacy food technology issues or unethical sourcing.
Effective without being artificial
TORQ brings natural colours, flavours, and taste profiles to the gravel bike start chute. Instead of depending on traditional core ingredient suppliers, TORQ seeks suppliers who adhere to the best sustainability and organic standards. That’s why TORQ products don’t feature chemical sweeteners, colours or artificial flavours – all potential triggers for bloat and gut distress during a gravel race.
YC_TORQ_-177.jpg, by Liam Mercer
At an event like the Dalby Grit, with a climbing profile of 1800m across its 110km race distance, several punchy climbs require potent wattage and energy efforts. This risks severely depleting your carbohydrate stores. To sustain a competitive effort throughout the race distance, TORQ’s integration of pioneering research has addressed the need for riders to consume up to 90g (3 x TORQ units) of exogenous carbohydrate per hour – regardless of body mass. Indeed, if and when it is required, 120g / hour is achievable with TORQ’s carbohydrate formulation, but this requires some gut training to tolerate such a high volume..
The TORQ fuelling system was developed to meet gravel riders' needs during demanding race conditions. Everything Torq creates, from carbohydrate delivery to flavour, is driven by science and sustainability instead of trends and conventional wisdom. It’s why TORQ formulates a 2:1 ratio of Glucose-derivatives: Fructose, proven over the last two decades to be superior to a single carbohydrate source.
TORQ’s selection of drinks, gels, bars and jellies are formulated with precision to make ingesting 90g of exogenous carbohydrate an hour feasible. Every rider has a preference for carbohydrate intake. The challenge for product designers is creating formulations that taste good, even when the last thing riders think of is consuming nutrition – being completely immersed in their group position or cadence.
Packaging is another crucial aspect of high-performance gravel bike racing nutrition. How confident and dexterous are you with handling a hydration bottle to drink, reaching into a jersey pocket for that Jelly or Gel, or consuming a Bar while keeping position in the group on a flat section of the Dalby Grit route? When you reach for an energy product, you want to know it’s worth the effort and going to deliver in performance and taste without risking your on-bike gut comfort.
Better still, TORQ products are all vegan-friendly.
Formulated for speed and easy to eat
TORQ's diverse and scientifically advanced energy-fuelling products are formulated to help you conquer the Dalby Grit. Featuring a rapid-delivery 2:1 Maltodextrin: Fructose formulation with five key electrolytes, Torq’s energy powder mixes into a naturally flavoured isotonic drink. When you need a gel, reach into your jersey pocket for Torq’s Hypertonic Energy Gel. It features the same proven 2:1 Maltodextrin: Fructose blend, delivering potency without artificial sweeteners or colours, while retaining a silky mouth texture for easy chewing and absorption.
DSCF0651.jpg, by Liam Mercer
After you’ve cleared the Dalby Grit’s White Cliff Rigg climb at 21km, the course flattens. This is an ideal time to eat on the bike and unwrap that TORQ Energy Bar. Unlike other energy bars, which can be too dry and crunchy, making them annoying to bite and chew, the TORQ energy bar is low-fat but moist, making it easy to consume and release all those multi-transportable carbohydrates your muscles need after the Dalby Grit’s first big climb. The Bars are also certified Organic by the Soil Association, so no harmful chemicals are in the ingredients or have been used in production.
The latest addition to TORQ’s all-vegan Energy-Fuelling System is Jellies. These feature a 2:1 blend of Glucose Derivatives to Fructose and are naturally flavoured, free of that artificial sweetener taste. TORQ’s Jellies are igloo-shaped and easy to handle between the fingers when reaching for them in that jersey's back pocket.
Gravel bike racing on the southern edge of the North York Moors National Park is something to train towards for June. When Dalby Grit race day arrives, you want a proven fuelling and energy strategy in your hydration bottles and jersey pockets. With Torq’s fuelling system, you get all the performance of products built on science and made with ethically sourced, natural ingredients.
You might also like:
Author block
1 comments
Why use Torq to fuel a gravel event? Probably because you've got more money than you know what to do with. A home made 'gravel mix' is easy, & inexpensive but of course doesn't make any money for the purveyors of expensive ultra-processed pap.