Pros are fuelling at up to 200 grams of carbs an hour. Should you be chasing that number too?

High carb fuelling is the hottest topic in endurance sport right now, and the numbers keep climbing. INEOS Grenadiers are fuelling their riders at up to 150 grams of carbs an hour on big Touar de France stages, and pro triathlete Cameron Wurf recently said he took on 200 grams an hour on the bike in a recent Ironman (yes, 200, in one hour). Every age grouper watching that unfold is tempted to copy it. In this episode Taryn breaks down the real science behind high carb fuelling, why it works for the pros, and the one thing most age group triathletes skip completely before they try to chase that number themselves.

You'll learn:

• Why the pros are pushing carb intake so high, and what the official guidelines actually say
• The genuine recovery benefits of higher carb fuelling, backed by real research
• Why eating past your absorption ceiling can wreck your race instead of fuelling it
• Why your fuelling ceiling is nothing like the pro's ceiling, and why that's completely fine
• A real athlete example of building fuelling tolerance the right way, over time, not overnight

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Why high carb fuelling is exploding in endurance sport

01:24 Meet Taryn and what this episode covers

02:19 The science behind pro level carb intake

03:42 The recovery benefits backed by research

04:08 The catch: high dropout rates from gut issues

05:14 Why there is a ceiling on how much carb can help you

05:38 The cycling study that found more was not always better

06:34 Where unused carbs actually go

07:01 Why your absorption capacity is not the same as anyone else's

08:07 The trap of copying the pro's number

09:39 How the pros actually built their tolerance

10:51 Why gut training is not a DIY podcast protocol

11:54 What you can start doing today

13:34 Case study: Lynn's fuelling turnaround

15:11 The real takeaway: find your number, not theirs

REFERENCES

- King, A. J., O'Hara, J. P., Morrison, D. J., Preston, T., & King, R. F. G. J. (2018). Carbohydrate dose influences liver and muscle glycogen oxidation and performance during prolonged exercise. Physiological Reports, 6(1), e13555. https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.13555 | PubMed

- Viribay, A., Arribalzaga, S., Mielgo-Ayuso, J., Castañeda-Babarro, A., Seco-Calvo, J., & Urdampilleta, A. (2020). Effects of 120 g/h of carbohydrates intake during a mountain marathon on exercise-induced muscle damage in elite runners. Nutrients, 12(5), 1367. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12051367 | PubMed

- Urdampilleta, A., Arribalzaga, S., Viribay, A., Castañeda-Babarro, A., Seco-Calvo, J., & Mielgo-Ayuso, J. (2020). Effects of 120 vs. 60 and 90 g/h carbohydrate intake during a trail marathon on neuromuscular function and high intensity run capacity recovery. Nutrients, 12(7), 2094. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12072094 | PubMed

- Hearris, M. A., Pugh, J. N., Langan-Evans, C., Mann, S. J., Burke, L., Stellingwerff, T., Gonzalez, J. T., & Morton, J. P. (2022). 13C-glucose-fructose labeling reveals comparable exogenous CHO oxidation during exercise when consuming 120 g/h in fluid, gel, jelly chew, or coingestion. Journal of Applied Physiology, 132(6), 1394–1406. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00091.2022 | Free full text

- Wilson, P. B. (2026). A narrative review of the high-carbohydrate fueling revolution (≥100 g/h) in the professional peloton. Sports Medicine, 56(2), 295-313. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-025-02372-6

Our final cohort of the Triathlon Nutrition Academy for the year is opening again soon. If dialling in your race fuelling and training your gut to handle it is something you need to work on, register your interest now.

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