It is well established that caffeine improves prolonged endurance exercise in the laboratory setting1. Little data is available on the incidence of caffeine ingestion amongst athletes during competition2, including dosage, optimal timing of intake and preferred method of administration. Anecdotal evidence suggests that caffeine ingestion is prevalent amongst competitive road cyclists in Australia. The aims of this study are to determine i) the preferred method of caffeine intake before and during competition ii) the amount of caffeine taken by riders in order to provide a perceived ergogenic effect, and iii) the timing of intake that the athletes perceive as being optimal. Twelve males and 3 female, A grade, road cyclists completed a questionnaire on their usual caffeine consumption (type, dose, and timing) prior to racing and actual consumption during a National Series race. All competitors reported taking caffeine prior to the race. Six cyclists reported ingesting caffeine both before and during the race. Some used more than one type of caffeine during the race. All caffeine taken during the race was predominantly ingested with 35-50km of the race remaining. The preferred method of caffeine ingestion before racing is as coffee and during the race as gels or cola drinks. The estimated caffeine ingestion varied from 0.45-11.9mg/kg body weight. The preferred timing was prior to the start, and in the last 35-50km of the 140km race.
© Copyright 1999 5th IOC World Congress on Sport Sciences with the Annual Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport 1999. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.