Bicarbonate and Carbohydrate Co-Ingestion During Exercise in a Novel Gel Format Improves Time-Trial Performance After 3 h of Moderate-Intensity Exercise in Trained Cyclists
Study Details
This new study examined whether bicarbonate + carbohydrate consumed during exercise could preserve high-intensity performance after prolonged cycling in 11 trained cyclists 🔍
Participants completed 3 h of cycling at 95% of gas-exchange threshold, consuming 80 g/h carbohydrate in both trials 🚴
The bicarbonate condition provided 20 g total bicarbonate across the ride: 18 g sodium bicarbonate + 2 g potassium bicarbonate 🥤
Key Findings
⚡ After 3 h, 12-min time-trial power was 12 W higher with bicarbonate + CHO than CHO alone (251 vs 239 W)
📈 This represented an approximately 6% improvement in fatigued 12-min TT performance
↔️ Bicarbonate did not significantly improve 6-s sprint performance or the 2-min TT
🧪 Blood bicarbonate was ~4.3 mmol/L higher overall with supplementation, with concentrations reaching ~31 mmol/L at 180 min versus ~25 mmol/L with CHO alone
📊 Individual peak bicarbonate increased by ~5.8 mmol/L, indicating meaningful metabolic alkalosis
🩸 Lactate concentrations were higher during the post-ride high-intensity efforts with bicarbonate, consistent with greater glycolytic flux and/or lactate efflux
🍞 Bicarbonate did not alter carbohydrate oxidation, fat oxidation, energy expenditure, heart rate, VO₂ or RPE during the 3-h ride
🚽 GI symptoms were negligible and did not differ between conditions, with no severe symptoms reported
😬 However, bicarbonate gels were rated as less pleasant than standard carbohydrate gels
⚠️ The study was small, could not be fully blinded and used a fixed bicarbonate dose, producing relative intakes of 0.23–0.35 g/kg
Conclusion
For endurance athletes, distributing bicarbonate through carbohydrate gels during prolonged exercise may help preserve a decisive sustained high-intensity effort late in an event, while potentially avoiding the GI issues associated with traditional sodium bicarbonate loading ✅
Reference
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42788859/
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