Coconut water is used in replacement of sports drinks for hydration during endurance cycling, however evidence to support it is limited. This study determined if drinking coconut water compared to a sports drink altered cycling performance and physiology. In a randomized cross-over trial, 19 experienced male (n=15) and female (n=4) cyclists (age 30±9 years, body mass 79±11 kg, VO2 peak 55±8 mL.kg-1.min-1) completed two experimental trials consuming either a commercially available sports drink or iso-calorific coconut water during 90 minutes of sub-maximal cycling at 70% of peak power output, followed by a simulated, variable gradient, 20-km time trial. Blood glucose, lactate, sweat loss, and heart rate were monitored throughout 90 minutes of sub-maximal cycling, as well as time trial performance (seconds) and average power (watts). A repeated measures analysis of variance and effect sizes (Cohen`s d) analysis were applied. There were no significant differences (p = 0.05) between treatments for any measured physiological or performance variables. Additionally, effect size analysis showed only trivial (d = 0.2) differences between treatments for all measured variables, except blood glucose, which was lower in the coconut-water trial compared to the sports drink trial (d = 0.31). Consuming coconut water has a similar effect on cycling time trial performance and physiological responses to consuming a commercially available sports drink.
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