Cycling aid: Natural food or energy gels?

Sports supplements can empty your wallet, while "natural" foods can upset your stomach. This article will teach you how to make the most suitable nutrition choices for each type of ride.

This is a topic that has been hotly debated in the cycling community, just like "Should cycling socks be worn over or under cycling shorts?" and "Should you do strength training while cycling?"

Of course, you can completely ditch the energy gels and stuff your pockets with bananas and candy. But this isn't always the optimal solution; the final choice depends on the type of ride you plan to take.

Next time you're rummaging through your kitchen cupboards, agonizing over what nutrition to bring, consider these 5 core factors. They can help you save money, protect your digestive system, and prevent you from running out of energy and crashing into the wall during your ride.

Ride Duration and the 90-Minute Threshold

First, do you really need to eat while cycling?

In some cases, the answer is no.

Your body's glycogen reserves are usually sufficient to sustain you for about 90 minutes of cycling. If you've eaten enough beforehand, you might only need a bottle of water to soothe your throat, plus that emergency energy gel you've been keeping in your handlebar bag for who knows how long.

Will Green, the professional nutritionist for the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team, adds that the intensity of that 90-minute ride is a crucial variable.

"There's only one situation where I would recommend replenishing energy during a 90-minute ride: when the riding intensity is extremely high, such as interval training or a formal race. In this case, you can bring one supplement, such as a carbohydrate drink or an energy gel," Green told Velo.

Additionally, if you're riding on an empty stomach (by the way, unless under professional guidance, riding on an empty stomach is generally not recommended), or if this training session is part of a "twice-a-day" workout, you can disregard the 90-minute rule.

If you're determined to replenish energy during your ride, when debating whether to choose natural foods or energy gels, consider the following factors.

1. Price

If you're relying solely on supplements for your entire ride, you'd better have a substantial budget.

Let's start with the most obvious point: price.

Everything is getting more expensive these days, but frankly, the price increase for sports supplements is outrageous. The price of an energy gel or a packet of carb powder has skyrocketed.

In 2026, the average price of a high-carb energy gel will be around $4, and even buying in bulk will only slightly reduce the unit price. If a rider wants to replenish their carbs sufficiently with energy gels during a 4-hour ride, they'll have dozens more kilometers of riding credit on Strava, but a significant amount less money in their wallet.

Riders who rely solely on supplements for their entire ride are either sponsored by a brand, have extremely low carb intake, or are very wealthy.

Green stated that the riders on his Red Bull team use only professional sports supplements throughout the ride. However, he also provided some affordable alternatives with almost comparable effects.

“If you’re on a budget, Haribo gummies are the perfect choice—they’re basically pure sugar,” Green says. “I also highly recommend pre-rolled frosting for decorating cakes; a bag costs only about $2 (approximately 14 RMB) and can be divided into 10-15 portions, each providing about 20 grams of carbohydrates.”

“As for drinks, you can simply add sugar to water and a little citrus juice to stimulate saliva production,” he continues. “You can also add a pinch of salt to balance electrolytes.”

“If you want to make a more professional carbohydrate drink, you can also spend a small amount of money to buy bulk packages of maltodextrin and fructose and make your own.”

2. Excess (or perhaps necessary?) Nutrients

Choosing the right supplements might help you avoid a “Dumoulin-style” gastrointestinal crisis on the track.

During high-intensity cycling, your body only needs carbohydrates. Protein, fat, and dietary fiber can be left at home.

Carbohydrates are rapidly broken down into energy-rich monosaccharides, providing a continuous source of power for your pedaling output.

All other macronutrients are more difficult for the body to digest, provide energy more slowly, and may even cause gastrointestinal discomfort.

“At any intensity of riding, protein and fat are useless; they may even be as detrimental as their benefits,” says Green.

This is the core advantage of industrially produced “sports foods.”

Most modern endurance supplements are 100% sugar, zero protein, and zero fat. Of course, sports supplements usually also contain electrolytes, caffeine, and other beneficial ingredients.

In the post-pandemic era, cyclists’ extreme pursuit of carbohydrates has rendered the high-fat rice cakes of the Team Sky era completely obsolete. Low-fat, high-sugar crispy rice bars have now become the new standard in professional cycling.

Therefore, if you want to supplement with “natural foods” during high-intensity riding, be sure to choose those with the lowest possible dietary fiber and fat content. Gummies are the first choice; chocolate is definitely not.

Snickers bars are best saved for when you're relaxing on the sofa after your ride.

3. The Golden Carb Ratio and Carb Supplementation Goals

Natural Foods or Energy Gel? High-carb supplementation is almost impossible to achieve with natural foods. Not all sugars work the same way. If you want to achieve high-dose carb supplementation, you need a complex carbohydrate formula.

Today, the high-carb craze has swept the entire endurance sports world—and it's entirely justified. It has completely changed the face of modern endurance sports, and we at Velo have reported on this "carb revolution" many times.

But don't think that a bag of gummy bears and a bottle of sugar water will keep you up with this carb revolution.

Why?

Because not all sugars are created equal.

The human body relies on two monosaccharide molecules for rapid energy supply: glucose and fructose.

And most importantly, they are absorbed through two completely different transporters in the intestines.

Glucose is the body's core energy source, but its absorption pathways can only absorb a maximum of 60-70 grams per hour. If athletes want to achieve a carbohydrate intake of over 60 grams per hour, they must simultaneously utilize the fructose absorption pathway to maximize its energy potential.

To maximize carbohydrate absorption and reach the legendary 120 grams per hour, athletes need to mix glucose and fructose in a specific ratio. The sports science community generally agrees that a glucose-to-fructose ratio of 2:1 or 1:0.8 is the optimal solution for rapid energy delivery and reduced gastrointestinal burden.

All modern sports supplement brands adhere to this ratio in their product development, but such a ratio is virtually impossible to find in natural foods.

In short: If your carbohydrate intake is below 60 grams per hour, any sugary snack, whether it's bananas, gummies, dates, or other foods, will meet your needs. However, if your carbohydrate intake exceeds 60 grams per hour, you'll require a more specialized supplementation plan.

4. Practicality

Practicality is the key dividing line between natural foods and energy gels. Try eating this while cycling at 35 km/h. While it certainly looks delicious.

This is something everyone knows.

What would you rather put in the pocket of your top-of-the-line cycling jersey? A well-packaged, properly sized sports supplement, or a banana destined to be crushed and smeared on your "wind tunnel tested, aerodynamically optimized" cycling jersey?

Not to mention, when you're speeding down a gravel road, are you really willing to fumble around trying to unzip a gummy candy bag?

Natural foods are delicious, cheap, and all-natural. But if you can't easily carry them, access them effortlessly, and make a mess, then they're useless.

A casual weekend ride? Of course, you can bring a sandwich wrapped in foil.

High-intensity training? Choose a professional sports supplement; it will make your training more efficient and safer.

5. Satiety and Satisfaction

Natural Foods or Energy Gels? If we had to choose between pizza and sports supplements, the answer is obvious. After a 6-hour ride, would you choose a slice of pizza or an energy gel? Our choice is clear to everyone.

Frankly, unless you have an iron stomach, relying solely on sports supplements for a long-distance ride is simply unrealistic.

For most people with average digestive systems, unless you've undergone specific gastrointestinal tolerance training, relying solely on sports supplements will inevitably lead to taste fatigue, or even vomiting and diarrhea, completely ruining your entire nutrition plan.

Even professional cyclists who won the 350-mile Unbound XL ultra-long-distance gravel race admit that during an 18-hour ride, their original nutrition plan was long forgotten. The same is true in other endurance sports: pacers in the Western 100 and the UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc) feast on noodles and pizza at aid stations, while their support teams stuff their pockets full of energy gels and drinks.

Natural foods—and the fats and proteins they contain—definitely have their place in long-distance cycling. During low-intensity cycling, the body's need for fast-acting carbohydrates decreases, significantly reducing the risk of gastrointestinal upset.

Research has overturned an old notion: for athletes who replenish protein adequately after cycling, in-exercise protein supplementation does not enhance recovery.

But there's no doubt that protein provides satiety and expands your nutritional options. Meanwhile, fat has a very high calorie density, and a handful of nuts can sustain you for a long ride.

And frankly, when you've cycled for six hours and haven't even covered half the distance, nothing is more comforting than a not-so-authentic-looking pepperoni pizza at a gas station, paired with an ice-cold Coke.