We’ve talked about carbohydrate recommendations during training and racing, but sometimes it’s hard to EAT 60+ grams of carbs per hour, especially if you are out for a long/hard ride.

Did you know you can also meet (at least a portion) of your hourly carbohydrate goals with a carb-electrolyte drink (CHO-E)? But, before you go that route, you want to know the contents of what you are drinking, the mixing instructions, and scale the serving size information from the nutrition label to the amount of fluid in the bottle you are using.

If you are also using gels or chews, make sure you are factoring in the total grams of carbohydrate and milligrams of sodium the products are providing you together, with your CHO-E drink. Here are some of the more common drinks and their CHO and sodium content per 24 oz (710 ml).

Skratch Hydration: 31 g CHO, 570 mg sodium

Skratch Superfuel: 120 g CHO, 480 mg sodium

Tailwind Endurance Fuel: 50 g CHO, 600 mg sodium

Gu Roctane: 69 g CHO, 366 mg sodium

SWORD Performance: 45 g CHO, 600 mg sodium

As always, try it first during training, try it at race pace, and over time in multiple environmental conditions before you settle on a race day plan!

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