CoCoPops: The Race Fuel You Never Knew You Needed

Why Carbohydrates Matter for Endurance Performance

Carbohydrates are the primary fuel source during moderate- to high-intensity endurance exercise. Unlike fat, which requires more oxygen to break down, carbs can be rapidly converted into usable energy—especially when intensity increases or during surges, hills, or sprints.

During prolonged exercise, your body relies heavily on muscle and liver glycogen stores. Once these stores are depleted, fatigue sets in quickly, performance drops, and your ability to maintain pace or power diminishes. Research shows glycogen depletion is a major reason athletes bonk or hit the wall—not hydration or electrolytes.

Even before full depletion, having more carbs on board makes you more efficient. You need less oxygen to do the same work.

More carbs = better performance, faster recovery, more training days.

When You Eat Carbs Matters

Getting the timing right is key.

During Exercise

Carbs during training or racing help you:

• Delay fatigue

• Improve endurance performance

• Preserve muscle and liver glycogen stores

But your gut can only absorb about 60g/hour of glucose alone. This is because intestinal glucose transport is limited by a single transporter (SGLT1).

By combining glucose with fructose (which uses a different transporter, GLUT5), you can:

• Boost absorption up to 90g/hour

• Reduce gut issues—critical when fueling hard efforts or racing

• Fuel long sessions or back-to-back days

Glucose-fructose blends (e.g. maltodextrin + fructose or sucrose-based drinks) are a practical way to implement this.

After Exercise

Your session ends. Recovery begins.

The first 4 hours after exercise are the best time to refill glycogen stores.

Aim for:

• 1.0–1.2 g/kg/hour of carbs

• Small doses every 30–60 minutes

This helps:

• Accelerate muscle glycogen re-synthesis

• Support liver glycogen replenishment

• Improve next-day performance

Fructose matters in recovery, too. While glucose drives muscle glycogen recovery, fructose enhances liver glycogen repletion—a key component of metabolic recovery. When glucose and fructose are co-ingested post-exercise:

• Liver glycogen repletion rates are up to 2x faster compared to glucose alone

• GI discomfort is reduced when large carb amounts are needed

• Next-day performance (especially in back-to-back sessions) improves significantly

One study showed that endurance capacity the next day improved by 32% when glucose-fructose was consumed versus glucose alone!

How to Use This in Your Training

Before Sessions >90 Minutes or high intensity

• Consume 1–4 g/kg carbs 1–4 hours before

• This is quite a broad recommendation. It makes sense to eat less closer to your event.

• Aim for 4 g/kg 4 hours out and/or 1 g/kg 1 hour out

During Long or Intense Sessions

• Target 60–90 g carbs/hour

• Use a glucose + fructose blend

• Train your gut to handle this intake

After Sessions

• Start within 30–60 minutes

• Consume 1.0–1.2 g/kg/hour of carbs for up to 4 hours

• Use both glucose and fructose when aiming for rapid liver and muscle glycogen restoration

⸻

Free Tools to Help You Fuel Smarter

If you have read this far - well done! Thank you! 

✅ Carbohydrate Loading Calculator

Find out how much carbohydrate you need in the 24–48 hours before your event.

✅ Event Nutrition Planner

Build your in-session fueling plan with the right glucose/fructose mix. It includes proven supplement suggestions too.

Both tools are free:

https://www.enhanced-endurance.com/free-fitness-calculators

Use them to take the guesswork out of fueling. 

Both are designed to simplify your planning process and ensure your fueling strategy is grounded in evidence.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, & American College of Sports Medicine. (2016). Nutrition and athletic performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 48(3), 543–568. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000852

Díaz-Lara, F. J., González, J. T., Montoro-Bombú, A., Arjona-Padilla, I., Domínguez, R., & Roche, E. (2024). Delaying post-exercise carbohydrate intake impairs next-day exercise capacity but not muscle glycogen resynthesis. Acta Physiologica, 240(1), e13987. https://doi.org/10.1111/apha.13987

Fuchs, C. J., Gonzalez, J. T., & van Loon, L. J. C. (2019). Fructose co-ingestion to increase carbohydrate availability in athletes. The Journal of Physiology, 597(14), 3549–3560. https://doi.org/10.1113/JP277116