Matt's Mallorca Trip Fuelled By Veloforte
Matt was lucky enough last year to go to Mallorca to ride my bike for a few days but secondly take a selection of the Veloforte nutrition products with him. So to make him feel slightly less guilty we thought we’d make it slightly work related and combine it all to give you a review on the nutrition products and what he took out on the ride and maybe what he wished he’d taken out!!
General Nutrition Rules and Guidance
Depending on the intensity of the ride you want between 30-60g carbs per hour, even upto 90g but that needs it’s own training of the gut to handle this amount. This can be via fluids or solid food. Most people have enough energy reserves for around 60-90 minutes of exercise. Ideally you want the carbs to be a mix of glucose and fructose (eg sugar from fruit)
Protein is needed for recovery and repair of our immune systems and muscles. We’d recommend around 0.4 – 1 grams of protein per kg of body weight. And it’s always good to get protein into you within 20 minutes of your exercise ending. Ideally you want your protein to be complete proteins with all 20 amino acids. Like hummus or peanut butter etc.
Fats can be broken into two good and bad fats. Bad fats are saturated fats like cakes, crisps and chocolate etc these are harmful to our health. The body however needs good mono saturated and polyunsaturated fate to support the absorption of fat syllable vitamins (A K D and E) which aid recovery, energy supply and the immune system functioning. Foods like avocado and nuts and oily fish are good sources of these.
When it comes to long distance sports like cycling, you need high energy foods that provide easy to digest carbs.
So what did I consume during my time in Mallorca …
Day One
Was a gentle ride to loosen up the legs after a day of travelling. It was a 35km flat ride at an easy pace.
As it was a late afternoon ride I had the Forza bar post ride to refuel my energy and also aid my protein recovery levels. As this bar is high in protein 12g and has a 3:1 ratio of carbs to protein. It makes it a great bar on or off the bike.
The Forza is a great bar, I found the bar to be sweet but not too sweet from the apricots, and a nice balance with the aniseed flavour from the fennel. Overall it had a soft and easy to eat texture with some crunch from the almonds. Which is easy to eat, not dry or overly chewy
Day 2
The ride intensity on day two got turned up a little as we did a 100km flat ride with one small climb. Which was just over a 3 hour ride. So in line with this so did the nutrition.
For this ride I had 2 energy bars; the DiBosco and the Ciocco, 1 pack of Chews and 1 gel (which I had for the climb)
I also had two bidons of fluids; 1 with vivo which is an electrolyte and energy drink and 1 with Attivo which is an energy caffeine and electrolyte drink.
The Attivo has a light strawberrys and cream flavour which has a little savoury
bite thanks to the basil which means it’s not overly sweet which I really enjoy as on long rides i often feel ‘sugared out’ with all of the energy products I’ve used in the past, but this isn’t the case here.
The Vivo had a mild sweet taste almost lychee if I hadn’t read the packet but is peach, raspberry and rose hip. It’s got a light floral after taste thanks to the rose hip which makes it really refreshing to drink and again not overly sweet.
I had the Di Bosco early on in the ride which is like a rich fruit cake, lots of juicy berries busting in your mouth followed by the crunch of the nuts to give the bars a great texture mix.
The pack has 6 chews in them. I took out the Fresco which has an initial citrusy lemon burst in your mouth followed by mouth freshening mint. Which is so nice in the bike I found, really freshens up the mount. Veloforte recommend 2 chews every 20 minutes, but if I’m honest I ate all 6 in one sitting as I enjoyed them so much!! They are coated in a light powder coating so they don’t get sticky and makes them easy to consume.
The gel I had was the Riba which was the blackcurrant and elderflower, it’s the sweeter of the gels in the range in my opinion but it does have a sharp edge to the taste to not make it overly sweet. It was easy to open the packet, not something I can say about every gel I’ve tried in the past and consistency was very smooth and easy to digest, not gloopy or too sticky.
Later in the ride I had the Ciocco bar which is one of my favourite bars as I am a sucker for chocolate. Which again has that familiar Veloforte softness and crunch in texture. Due to the mix of fruit – Dates in this bar plus the Almonds for the crunch.
Day 3
Again the ride intensity went up this time it was 125km with 2 x 3 km climbs. Which meant over 4 hours in the saddle.
I took with me 2 energy bars , 1 packet of chews and 1 gel, plus we stopped for a coffee and something to eat.
Hydration wise I had 1 electrolyte/ energy bidon with the Vico powder and another bidon with the Attivo energy electrolyte with caffeine.
Whilst out we stopped for lunch so I was able to refill my bidons with water. However I wished I’d taken sachets of the energy drink powder with me. They’re convenient and small enough to do so. Lesson learnt by me for next time
I took out the Mocha energy / protein bar which has an indulgent feel to it with its coffee and chocolate taste, with again the wonderful crunch and bite from the hazelnuts. I’d happily eat this bar as a snack anytime of the day.
Also I had the Zenzero bar which is bursting with mouthwatering lemon and ginger flavours, if I’m honest I’m not a massive ginger fan but it works and balances out the flavours of this bar nicely.
In between the bars I snacked on the Amaro chews which are like a cherry Turkish delight again I had restrain myself not to eat them all at once! These contain natural electrolytes, caffeine and energy as they’re made from Gurana and real fruit juices.
I under fuelled this ride and should have had another pack of chews and or a gels.
Because all of the Veloforte products are relatively small I could have fitted their extra into my pocket, again another lesson learnt for the upcoming days.
I also again used the gel before the harder of the two climbs. I went for the non caffeine version, as I’d isn’t want to much caffeine in the day as I’d already had coffees and caffeine in the chews. So took the Primo, which is again smooth to ingest and easy to open the sachet. This gel had a unique flavour, sweet yet sharp. The gel seemed to do the trick and helped me power up the climb.
Day 4
After yesterdays under powering by me on the nutrition I took out extra. With 3 bars 1 chew, and 2 gels plus lunch. Hydration wise I had 1 electrolyte/ energy and 1 energy caffeine and electrolyte drink for the 130km plus ride which had a 6km climb and a 3km climb.
Gels taken were taken before the main two main climbs to help power me up as they are easy and quick to ingest and seemed over the last few days to give quick energy release.
I had the Doppio for the bigger climb of the day as it has caffeine as well as carbs. It’s a like have a rich espresso thanks to the coffee and date ingredients one for the coffee lovers definitely.
I then had the Tempo before the smaller climb, which has a rich sweet draw flavour with a little kick of ginger. Very indulgent taste.
Bars for this ride were the Ciocco, Avanti and the Forza. Again no issues with opening the bars or issues ingesting thanks to they great texture which is a soft chewy nature with crunch form the nuts.
The Avanti bar was another bar I really enjoyed, again almost a savoury hint to the bar due to the salt but get luxurious in flavour and texture.
I then had more of the cirtus and mint Fresco chews which were quickly becoming favourites of mine, and also the Citro chews with their orange and ginger
Day 5
Was planned to be a big day so I took supplies accordingly! … 2 bars 2 chews and 2 gels for the climbs as they are a little easier to eat, plus we stopped for lunch mid ride.
Hydration in take was 2 electrolyte/ energy bidons, and 1 energy caffeine and electrolyte. Plus 2 water refills at the cafe stop.
For the chews I had the Amaro and the Citro.
I took my favourite gels out for the last big day of the trip; the Riba and the Tempo.
Likewise I took my favourite bars the Mocha, Avanti and the Classico. The Classico has a citrus kick to it but isn’t overly sweet thanks to the balance of flavours from the mixed spices and vanilla.
In total it was 140km of riding with 3 x 8k main climbs.
Day 6
After the last few days riding the legs had little left to give. So it was just a very easy cafe spin for around 30km on the flat we even stopped for a coffee halfway! So I just packed a Vivo energy drink in my bidon and a Mocha protein / energy bar.
Summary
In summary the Veloforte range offers energy packed products which fit easily into your jersey pocket or saddle bag, made with high quality ingredients and flavours that are generally not overly sweet and some unusual flavours which I craved after years of boring same old sweet orange and tropical and blackcurrant flavoured products.
They are different to many other brands out there, with often a subtle sweetness. With all natural ingredients calling heavily on nuts and fruit as the main ingredients. I had no stomach issues at all this week which I have suffered from in the past with other brands due to the high carb levels and additives. With no artificial additives and many of the products vegan friendly. It’s a great product for many people.
These are my new go to nutrition for on and and off the bike. A real winner in my eyes.