How to fuel like a Trek Factory Racing XC rider

Anton Cooper takes his fueling seriously. And coming off one of the best seasons of his career, highlighted by a World Cup bronze medal in Leogang and a sixth place finish at the Tokyo Olympics, it’s safe to say he’s got his routine dialed in.

The Race Shop caught up with Cooper to discuss how Trek Factory Racing XC’s partnership with GU Energy Labs has helped him develop a comprehensive race day fueling strategy, and what advice he can give to athletes who are just beginning to learn about supplements.

Everyone’s body is different, which means that determining the right products for before, during and after racing requires patience and a little bit of experimentation to determine what works and what doesn’t. Athletes like Cooper may have access to top-notch coaches and nutrition experts, but that doesn’t mean that fueling right is easy.

“Through experience and trial and error, you learn what works for you and what doesn’t,” Cooper says. “Over the years, it’s kind of been a process of elimination.”

Cooper relies on GU products, which he didn’t begin using until 2017 when he joined Trek Factory Racing. Right away he was impressed with how much they aided his performance, particularly the gels that he uses during racing. 

“It’s a great tool because you don’t have to chew it. You just rip the top off, and you’re breathing so hard in a race anyway, it’s so much easier to get down the hatch than a bar,” Cooper says.

The content of what you put in your body — the level of sugar, electrolytes, protein, caffeine, etc. — is important, but so is how it tastes. Choose a flavor that suits your palate, but also the conditions. 

Cooper likes strawberry lemonade Roctane gels, especially in hot conditions. In cooler weather, he might go with a toasted marshmallow or campfire s’mores flavor, however. Out of a wide range of flavor options, perhaps the only one he won’t try is coffee. 

“Personally, I can’t stand coffee,” Cooper laughs. “But there are a lot of people who love coffee gels, and there’s one for them. And there’s fruit-based flavors and then sweeter flavors as well, your chocolate coconuts and things like that. It might be a bit sweet, but on a cooler day it tastes delicious. It’s good having a big range of things.”

When Cooper first started racing, he didn’t take many supplements. He quickly incorporated them into his routine when he realized how they benefited him. Then he dialed everything back.

“I was taking a gel every lap and trying to get as much in me, which can also be detrimental because your body can’t process that much right carbs. It just cannot do it, and your stomach doesn’t like it either,” Cooper says. “So I found the sweet spot for me is a gel before a race, and two during.”

One of the last things anyone wants during a race or workout is stomach troubles.

“With the GU gels, they’re a lot easier on my stomach than other brands have ever been,” Cooper says. “And I think with my current approach to racing and my fueling system, it works pretty well for me. I’ve probably been following my routine for the last two years. Maybe three.”

Cooper’s fueling strategy for a typical XCO-length World Cup race day doesn’t vary much depending on the course and venue. For a race that lasts roughly one hour to and hour-and-a-half, he’ll do:

• Electrolyte and BCAA tabs before the race.
• One Roctane gel 15-20 minutes before the start.
• Two more gels in-race, plus Roctane drink mix.
• Recovery shake immediately afterwards.

Longer or shorter races require different fueling strategies, however, as do events like cyclocross, which prohibit taking new water bottles during races. 

With so many different products to navigate, putting together a fueling strategy can get complicated. Cooper started by adding gels to his routine, and built from there.

“The thing you’re going to notice the most when starting out are the gels,” Cooper says. “It’s quick and easy, and it’s a noticeable effect. It’s a really good boost, and it’s quite quick. So, finding a gel and a flavor that’s going to work with you and for you, that’s really important.” 

There’s no such thing as too much research when it comes to performance products. Talk to a professional nutritionist if you can, and do your online reading from vetted sources. And bear in mind, again, that what works for one person won’t work for another.

“Body weight is a big, big part of it. So what works for women and men is often different, because women often weigh less,” Cooper says. “Find out how much caffeine intake you might need per hour, per kilo. And also carbohydrate intake per kilo per hour. There’s a lot of information out there around that.”

Anton Cooper says that one of the biggest mistakes that new athletes make is negating their training gains by not taking their recovery seriously. Cooper makes sure to have a recovery shake within 30 minutes of finishing his ride. 

“Training is where you do the hard work, but when you rest and recover is actually when you make the gains,” Cooper says. “I’ll have a shake before I’ve taken my helmet off. And recovery shakes are really easy to get down to great flavors. And so I think when you start getting into those repeated, good habits of fueling well during training, that makes a really big difference to your performance gains. They grow rapidly.”

According to Cooper, under-fueling after a workout is one of the biggest mistakes that young athletes make.

“It’s often on purpose, because people are trying to stay as lean as possible. But you just don’t make gains like that,” Cooper says. “You need to be fueling properly. You need to be recovering properly. And that’s when mentally you’re much happier. Your body’s much happier because it’s getting the required nutrients and fuel. And your performance goes forward in leaps and bounds.”