Gravel vs Road: How Fueling Strategies Can Change with Joe Laverick

While gravel is a very close descendant of road racing, and therefore very similar in tactics and logistics. It’s also intricately different. The tactics are different, the racing style is different, and the fuelling is different too.

In my first US block of the year, my calendar went from a 100-mile and five hour gravel race in Texas, to a five-day stage race in California. I won Rattlesnake Gravel, and then also won the first stage of Redlands too. They couldn’t have been further apart in strategies - the stage of Redlands I won was a TT!

Redlands packed so many challenges: TT, altitude, 2 hr+ climbs and more. It was quite the depart from my road racing norm!

Here are some of my thoughts, feelings, and tips from splitting my calendar between road and gravel.

Self Sufficiency

The biggest difference between gravel and road is self-sufficiency. While some gravel races do allow you to have pit crews, many races are championing you having to provide for yourself. This is a rule I enjoy as it doesn’t mean the bigger names with bigger budgets have an advantage.

What does this mean?

In gravel, I’ll often start with the USWE Race 2.0. I first used this at Unbound last year and it not only allowed me to hold a load of extra water, it also kept it cool. 

I recently raced Redlands where I won a stage and wore yellow for a day. I forgot how nice it was to have neutral feed zones with access to whatever bottle I wanted! 

Bars vs. Gels

In yester-year, road stage races were the place you could chill out, ride around the bunch and catch up with some friends. The sprint stages were effectively cafe rides, it was a joy. Those were the days that I’d pack a bar in my back pocket. Gels are convenient, but bars are often tastier.

I’d put a dark chocolate Styrkr Bar50, or maybe even an Untapped Waffle for a little bit of morale. Unfortunately, the days of races going easy are long behind us. On my big-big days - think an Unbound - I’ll still pack some bars to combat flavour fatigue, but for most races I’m start to finish on gels.

Early Starts

Gravel races love early starts. It’s not unusual to hear my alarm go off at 4am, if not earlier for a big race. I’m not a morning person, and having a big breakfast clear my system three hours before can be difficult.

I’m a big fan of pre-race smoothies. I pack mine with oats, maple syrup, frozen berries and oat milk. It’s the perfect way of getting the calories in pre race.

I’m also either a coffee snob, or a coffee nerd depending on who you ask. I have a whole routine around my Aeropress on the road - it’s really quite something. That is until early race day. If I’m starting race day early, you can guarantee that I’ll be chewing caffeine gum.

RunGum was a revelation when I discovered it last season, and it continues to be the backbone of my racing. 50mg of caffeine per piece of gum - genius.

Don’t Forget Water

In the days of high fueling, everything is equated to getting the maximum amount of carbs that your gut can handle. In these circumstances, it can be easy to forget about the humble bottle of water.

If I’m fuelling correctly, which for me is 100-120g of carbohydrates an hour, I often find myself craving water - especially at Unbound or the like.

In fact, this is perhaps my biggest tip of all bike racing. Sometimes, water is your closest friend!

Refuelling

In stage racing, it’s vital that you keep eating. As the old adage goes, you’re not fuelling for today - you’re fuelling for tomorrow. If you miss any part of your strategy, you’ll feel it in the following days. 

This means even if you’re feeling bad in the race, you always fuel right into the final hour. You step off the bike and eat 80-100g of carbs - gummy bears are simple and often my favourite here - then it’s straight into prepping for tomorrow.

SIS Rego is a personal favorite of mine, packing a punch of both carbs and protein post stage. For Redlands especially, as it was insanely hot, I was focussing on drinking electrolytes throughout the day. The Styrkr SLT07’s became my go-to. Berry flavour.

Quick pro tip, drink mix isn’t just for on the bike. I’ll often be found with a bottle in hand drinking a carbohydrate mix hours before or after a race. Carbs Fuel is a good choice, with a healthy amount of sodium, or my personal favourite: SiS Go Energy.

Then, it’s rice. Lots, and lots, and lots of rice.

The Accessories

I like to think of things like bicarb and caffeine as accessories to performance. Just like a good piece of jewelry can a little je ne sais quoi to an outfit, performance accessories are the same.

I’ve already mentioned RunGum. When I won the opening stage at Redlands I took 200g (four pieces) of RunGum. In addition to this, I took the Maurten Bicarb 19 too.