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Training / Race Day

Race day fuel.

Punch in your staging time. We'll build the meal-and-fuel timeline backward from the call-up, so you arrive at the line topped off and finish with something in the tank.

The time your wave is called to the line, when you should be in the chute with your gel in hand. Look it up in the race-day email or on coloradomtb.org. Every race is a few minutes different.

Race category
Staging
8:20 AM
Estimated finish
9:40 AM
Recovery meal
10:20 AM
Category
Junior Varsity
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Timeline

Race morning, working backward from the gun.

T-1:50
6:30 AM

Full meal

Early race, so we're keeping this at 6:30 AM to protect your sleep. Eat lighter than the standard 3-hour meal.

  • · Smaller plate than usual: oatmeal, toast, pancakes, or a bagel.
  • · Small protein: a little nut butter or one egg. Keep it light.
  • · Skip fats entirely (bacon, butter, cheese). They slow digestion.
  • · Full water bottle with the meal.
  • · The T-1:00 snack is doing more work today, plan to lean on it.

Why: Three hours is the ideal digestion window, but for early staging we'd rather you sleep than wake at 5:20 to eat. A lighter meal at 6:30 clears in 2 hours just fine.

T-1:00
7:20 AM

Small snack

Today this is your main fuel. Don't skip and don't go light.

  • · A full bar AND a banana, not one or the other.
  • · Half a water bottle.
  • · Add half a PB&J if your stomach feels good.
  • · Don't try new foods today. Whatever you did at practice, do here.

Why: The pre-race meal was smaller today, so this snack carries more of the fueling load. Treat it like a second breakfast, not a top-off.

Staging
8:20 AM

Gel + half bottle

In the chute, right when they call your wave to the line.

  • · One gel. Whatever flavor you tolerate, no new flavors on race day.
  • · Half a water bottle to chase it (gels need water to absorb).
  • · League rule: no caffeine. Check the label and pick a non-caffeinated gel.

Why: Fast glucose hits your bloodstream right as the gun goes off, fueling the first 20-30 minutes of all-out effort.

Gun
8:25 AM

Race start (approx)

Junior Varsity · 2 laps · estimated 75 min (45-90 min)

T+0:35
8:55 AM

Race gel #1

Roughly 30 min into the race. Chase with a few sips.

  • · Pull a gel from your jersey pocket on a smooth/flat section, not in a corner or on a climb.
  • · Tear the top, take it in 2-3 swallows, drink a few sips of water.
  • · If your stomach feels off, skip this one and ride at whatever pace you can hold.

Why: Endurance carbohydrate guidelines call for 30-60g carbs/hour for efforts over 60 min. One gel ≈ 25g.

Finish
9:40 AM

Estimated finish

Slow spin to roll out the legs. Drink water. Don't sit down yet.

  • · Easy spin for 5-10 minutes, even just rolling around the venue.
  • · Sip water steadily, you're more dehydrated than you think.
  • · Find your team, breathe, take the moment in.

Why: Active cool-down clears lactate and reduces post-race soreness. Sitting down too quickly pools blood in your legs and makes you feel worse.

Post
10:20 AM

Recovery meal

Carbs + protein, roughly 4:1 ratio. The sooner you eat the better.

  • · Solid options: chocolate milk + a sandwich, PB+banana wrap, leftover pancakes with a hard-boiled egg.
  • · Drink another full bottle. Bonus points for an electrolyte mix.
  • · If you're not hungry, drink your recovery (smoothie, chocolate milk) and eat later.

Why: The 30-60 min post-effort window is when your muscles are most insulin-sensitive. Carbs go straight into glycogen restoration instead of getting stored as fat. Combine with protein to start repairing the muscle you just smashed.

Hydration playbook

Drink before you're thirsty.

  • ·Full bottle with the pre-race meal.
  • ·Half bottle with the T-1:00 snack.
  • ·Half bottle in the start chute with your gel.
  • ·On-bike: sip every 10-15 minutes. Don't wait for thirst.
  • ·Full bottle with the recovery meal.
  • ·Hot day or altitude race? Add an electrolyte mix to one of your bottles.
If you bonk

Emergency protocol.

Bonking is your body running out of glycogen. Lights out, legs gone, brain fog. The fix is fast carbs and patience.

  1. Eat a gel right now. No gel? A bar or anything sugary.
  2. Drink a half bottle of water to absorb it.
  3. Ride steady, not hard. It takes 10-15 min for the sugar to hit.
  4. Once you feel better, keep eating every 30 min.

Best fix: don't bonk. Start fueled, eat on schedule.

Night before

Pack the cooler, lay out the kit.

  • ·Normal dinner. Carb-forward, not heavy. Skip the new restaurant.
  • ·Pack: race kit, helmet, gloves, shoes, bottles, gels, bar, banana.
  • ·Cooler with the recovery meal + a cold drink.
  • ·Hydrate before bed. A glass of water with electrolytes is great.
  • ·Set TWO alarms. Get to bed early.
Why this works

The schedule is built around digestion windows. Three hours is enough for your stomach to clear a real meal so blood is in your legs, not your gut. The one-hour snack tops off liver glycogen as it gets drawn down during warm-up. The start-chute gel hits your bloodstream right as you go full gas, fueling the first 20-30 minutes that hurt the most. In-race gels keep blood glucose steady once your initial stores deplete. The recovery meal hits the 30-60 minute insulin-sensitive window when your muscles will preferentially refill glycogen instead of storing fat.

Fuel doesn't make you faster, it lets you race at the level you trained for. The fitness is already there. Don't undo it with a bad breakfast.

Coach says The rider who finishes ahead of you ate a real breakfast. So can you.
Need help? Got a sensitive stomach, food allergies, or just unsure what to eat? Email coach@boulderhighmtb.org and we'll work out a plan that fits you.
Credit Original race-day meal plan by Coach Joe Bryan. Thanks Joe.
Also under Training Pre-Season Plan