Coffee and cycling: Does caffeine make you faster on a bike?

Cyclists and coffee have long had a special kind of relationship. This can be as complex as understanding the precise origins of the beans, what flavour combinations you should be experiencing or following the correct preparation and serving techniques to the letter. It can also be as simple as enjoying a cafe stop on a ride with mates and having a coffee and a chat about the ride so far. While cafe culture is hugely important to cyclists there are also proven performance benefits to be had from the caffeine you'll find in a cup of your favourite coffee.

Our team of Conor, Hank and Manon are interested in testing the real-life practical benefits of caffeine with a GCN-style scientific experiment but before we get into the details of that let's take a closer look at caffeine and its effect on the body.

How does caffeine affect our bodies?

Caffeine is similar in structure to a substance called Adenosine, which is a molecule that binds to receptors in your brain for a calming effect on your central nervous system. Adenosine helps make you feel relaxed and sleepy. Caffeine molecules are able to bond to these Adenosine receptors and effectively block them. Rather than calming the nerves, caffeine stimulates them, causing a higher level of alertness and an increased heart rate, as well as delaying the onset of fatigue. So it is little wonder it’s so popular with cyclists when we feel we need a little extra stimulation during a ride.

We spoke to Andy Blow from Precision Fuel & Hydration who told us that while caffeine can have an effect on performance it isn't necessarily agreeable to everyone. If you don't particularly enjoy the benefits of a casual intake in everyday life it's unlikely it will work very well for you when it comes to cycling performance.

When it comes to optimal intake Andy tells us, "the recommended performance dose of caffeine is usually between 3 to 6mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight. That usually equates to between 200 and 400mg for an average adult."

Anything below that dosage isn't really effective while anything greater than that level tends to have diminishing returns, so isn't really worth it.

Read more: Hydration in cycling: Who's the sweatiest GCN presenter?

He goes on to tell us that it takes around 15 mins after consumption for caffeine to start showing up in your bloodstream and around 50-60 mins to become effective. So you should think about your caffeine intake ahead of an event. He also stresses that you shouldn't save caffeine gels for too late in a race or you risk missing the benefits before the race finishes - it needs time to kick in.

Can we ride faster after a caffeine hit?

So that's some of the theory behind caffeine. How does this actually translate when it comes to real-world performance? That's where Conor's experiment comes on.

Conor has enlisted the help of Manon and Hank to tackle one of our regular GCN climbs. At 2.7km long it requires a solid effort and both Conor and Hank will be tackling the climb at full gas… once they've all had a strong cup of coffee of course. However, Manon's added a twist. One of the pair will be drinking decaffeinated coffee. This is a blind taste test so they won't know who has had the decaf until after the experiment.

They will then go back the following week to repeat the challenge, except this time the decaf option will have been switched. The hope is that we see if there's been any difference between Hank and Conor's performance. Will caffeine actually make either of them ride faster or is the effect more in the mind? Watch the video above to see the results.

For more GCN experiments and challenges check out our dedicated Challenge section on the GCN website.

Ground Coffee 250g

There is nothing better than a piping hot coffee (or 2) during an epic bike ride. We love our coffee so we have partnered with Colonna Coffee, experts in the dark-art of roasting the perfect coffee, to bring you La Cumbre, our Guatemalan Fresh Roast Ground Coffee Retired agricultural technician Federico Cruz Sandoval produces exceptional coffee in Fraijanes, just south of Guatemala City. Finca La Cumbre sits within the highest part of the region - creating a complex flavour profile from this fully Catuai lot.