Jesper Svensson
Challenge Almere-Amsterdam
Jesper's headline numbers
Jesper's strategy
Fueling
Carbohydrate is the main fuel you burn when racing. Failing to fuel properly is a leading cause of underperformance in longer races.
Jesper consumed an impressive average of ~115g of carbohydrate per hour throughout the race at Challenge Almere. Like many triathletes in our Case Study Database, he strategically frontloaded his carb intake on the bike, consuming ~145g/h with no GI issues, followed by a slight reduction to ~93g/h during the run where the mechanics of this discipline often make fueling more challenging. Whilst such a high fuel intake, over 90g/h, is not appropriate for every athlete, Jesper’s had plenty of experience with this intake in both training and races, and testing has shown whilst working at these high relative race intensities he has extremely high carb oxidative capabilities. Most of his fueling came from PF 300 Flow Gel, which he found convenient to pre-mix into his bottles, eliminating the need to open individual gels on the move.
Hydration
Taking on board an appropriate amount of fluid and sodium is essential to maintaining blood volume and supporting the cardiovascular effort needed to perform on race day.
Whilst the absolute amount of sodium and fluid consumed per hour is important, it’s critical to consider these in relation to each other. This is known as 'relative sodium concentration' and it’s expressed in milligrams per litre (mg/L). How much sodium you’re taking in per litre of fluid is more important than the absolute amount taken in per hour.
Sweat sodium concentration (mg/L) is largely genetically determined and remains relatively stable. Knowing how salty your sweat is enables you to replace a good proportion of your sweat losses, which can range from 200-2,000mg/L.
Whilst Jesper’s losses are on the moderate side, getting his hydration strategy right is still important if he wants to perform at his best.
Learn moreJesper’s average fluid intake of ~780ml/h seemed suitable on the surface given the race's duration, intensity, and conditions, and kept him from race-impacting levels of dehydration. However, he mentioned not peeing at all and noticed very dark urine post-race, clear signs of dehydration. To fine-tune his hydration strategy, Jesper could benefit from some sweat rate testing to determine exactly how much fluid he loses per hour. He primarily relied on PH 1000 in his bottles but by diluting this with plenty of additional plain water, he consumed a relative sodium concentration of ~386mg/L, significantly lower than his sweat sodium concentration. While thankfully he didn’t experience cramping, he could still consider increasing his sodium intake to more closely match his losses especially in hotter conditions to better support his hydration status and recovery.
Caffeine
Beyond the Three Levers of Performance (carb, sodium and fluid), caffeine is one of only a few substances that is proven to improve performance for most endurance athletes as it can help stave off mental and physical fatigue.
Jesper relied primarily on PF 30 Caffeine Gels for his caffeine intake. He spaced these doses out effectively during the day, maintaining steady ergogenic benefits to avoid experiencing dips in his circulating caffeine levels. His intake sat comfortably within the scientific guidelines of 3-6mg/kg, making his caffeine strategy both well-planned and effective.
How Jesper hit his numbers
Here's everything that Jesper ate and drank on the day...
Jesper's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Jesper
PF&HJesper's full stats
Data Confidence?
There is an adequate level of accuracy in the data collected and the numbers reported. The athlete manages to recall what they ate and drank including most specifics (brands flavours quantities plausible estimations of volumes). However there are estimations made within the data which affect the overall confidence level in the data reported.