IS IT OKAY TO FUEL WITH JELLY BABIES? I SAW A GIF OF PETER SAGAN DOING IT, AND I FIGURE IF IT’S GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE WORLD CHAMP, IT SHOULD BE GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME – RIGHT?

“The idea behind straight sugar-type sweets is to bring up your blood sugar rapidly, without causing GI issues,” says Stacy Sims, an environmental exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist. In Sagan’s case, sweets like jelly babies – main ingredient: a highglycaemic-index carb that’s digested quickly – are a great way to replenish depleted glycogen stores immediately, as part of his recovery from a gruelling 200km effort. But you wouldn’t want to rely on sweets as your only fuel source during a ride or race, Sims cautions; you still want ‘real’ fuel as a nutritional base – especially during long rides. However, you can top off your glycogen stores with sweets if you feel your energy levels dropping – or if you need a boost to keep up with powerful surges, particularly in the last hour of a three-plushour effort.