In 2022 Jasper Verkuijl competed in the Haute Route Pyrenees. He aimed for a top-10 position in the general classification, but eventually he even became 4th.
Nutrition is especially important during stage races. To nail his nutrition, Jasper used EatMyRide. Already before the race he made sure he fuelled properly. By taking 10 grams of carbohydrates per kg bodyweight on the day before the race, he was fully carb-loaded.
For the race days he created a nutrition plan in the EatMyRide app so he knew exactly what to take on the bike. During the stages Jasper kept track of his glycogen depletion via the Garmin Carbohydrate Burn / Intake Balancer
app. Using these real-time insights into his carbohydrate burn and intake he knew that his glycogen wouldn’t drop too much and he made sure he took more than 90 grams of carbos per hour. Starting to eat to late or eating too little is a mistake that is often made, so this app helped Jasper to be sure on his progress.
After each stage Jasper could see in the EatMyRide app what his real intake was, how that compared to what he planned and how his glycogen levels depleted over time. Even with solid nutrition intake the glycogen level can drop low if the effort is hard. Especially during the long steep climbs in the Haute Route he burnt more than he could digest.
Jasper documented his participation in the Haute Route Pyrenees on YouTube in a 5-episode documentary:
Stage 1 – Racing the breakaway
Stage 2 – Competing in extreme weather conditions
Stage 3 – Attacking on the Tourmalet!
Stage 4 – Battling for GC
Stage 5 – All or nothing on Col du Portet!
Jasper Verkuijl
