Fueling the Tour
Demi’s fueling protocol
Winning the Tour takes guts. Demi's got plenty.
9050g of carbs – Total over 9 days, including meals
3450g of carbs – Fuel on bike across 9 stages
110g of carbs/hour – Average carb intake in race
What it took to fuel the Tour de France Femmes 2026 champion
Drink Mix 160 – 47 bottles
Drink Mix 320 – 9 bottles
Gel 100 – 20 sachets
Gel 160 – 10 sachets
Gel 100 Caf 100 – 6 sachets
Fuel comparison tool
40 g carbs
Firm gel
Best for
- Racing
- Long distance training
No caffeine
Neutral taste
Hydrogel Technology
80 g carbs
Drink
Best for
- Racing
- High-intensity training
- Long efforts
- Cycling
No caffeine
Neutral taste, Optional Additions (Orange, Apple, Cola, Menthol)
Hydrogel Technology
40 g carbs
Drink
Best for
- New to Maurten
- Long distance training
- Low-intensity efforts
- Pre-session
- Cycling
No caffeine
Neutral taste
Hydrogel Technology
80 g carbs
Drink
Best for
- Racing
- High-intensity training
- Cycling
Caffeine (100mg)
Neutral taste, Optional Additions (Orange, Apple, Cola, Menthol)
Hydrogel Technology
40 g carbs
Bar
Best for
- Pre-session
- Post-session
- Long efforts
No caffeine
Oat
No hydrogel technology
40 g carbs
Bar
Best for
- Pre-session
- Post-session
- Long efforts
No caffeine
Cacao
No hydrogel technology
25 g carbs
Firm gel
Best for
- Racing
- High-intensity training
- Late-race fuel
Caffeine (100mg)
Neutral taste
Hydrogel Technology
25 g carbs
Firm gel
Best for
- New to Maurten
- Racing
- High-intensity training
- Marathon
- Easy entry to fueling
No caffeine
Neutral taste
Hydrogel Technology
120 g carbs
Loose gel
Best for
- Long efforts
- Long Distance Trail and Ultra Gravel
No caffeine
Neutral taste, Optional Additions (Orange, Apple, Cola, Menthol)
Hydrogel Technology
80 g carbs
Drink
Best for
- Racing
- High-intensity training
- Long efforts
- Cycling
No caffeine
Neutral taste, Optional Additions (Orange, Apple, Cola, Menthol)
Hydrogel Technology
40 g carbs
Drink
Best for
- New to Maurten
- Long distance training
- Low-intensity efforts
- Pre-session
- Cycling
No caffeine
Neutral taste
Hydrogel Technology
80 g carbs
Drink
Best for
- Racing
- High-intensity training
- Cycling
Caffeine (100mg)
Neutral taste, Optional Additions (Orange, Apple, Cola, Menthol)
Hydrogel Technology
40 g carbs
Firm gel
Best for
- Racing
- Long distance training
No caffeine
Neutral taste
Hydrogel Technology
40 g carbs
Bar
Best for
- Pre-session
- Post-session
- Long efforts
No caffeine
Oat
No hydrogel technology
40 g carbs
Bar
Best for
- Pre-session
- Post-session
- Long efforts
No caffeine
Cacao
No hydrogel technology
25 g carbs
Firm gel
Best for
- Racing
- High-intensity training
- Late-race fuel
Caffeine (100mg)
Neutral taste
Hydrogel Technology
25 g carbs
Firm gel
Best for
- New to Maurten
- Racing
- High-intensity training
- Marathon
- Easy entry to fueling
No caffeine
Neutral taste
Hydrogel Technology
120 g carbs
Loose gel
Best for
- Long efforts
- Long Distance Trail and Ultra Gravel
No caffeine
Neutral taste, Optional Additions (Orange, Apple, Cola, Menthol)
Hydrogel Technology
120 g carbs
Loose gel
Best for
- Long efforts
- Long Distance Trail and Ultra Gravel
No caffeine
Neutral taste, Optional Additions (Orange, Apple, Cola, Menthol)
Hydrogel Technology
25 g carbs
Firm gel
Best for
- New to Maurten
- Racing
- High-intensity training
- Marathon
- Easy entry to fueling
No caffeine
Neutral taste
Hydrogel Technology
40 g carbs
Firm gel
Best for
- Racing
- Long distance training
No caffeine
Neutral taste
Hydrogel Technology
40 g carbs
Bar
Best for
- Pre-session
- Post-session
- Long efforts
No caffeine
Oat
No hydrogel technology
40 g carbs
Bar
Best for
- Pre-session
- Post-session
- Long efforts
No caffeine
Cacao
No hydrogel technology
40 g carbs
Drink
Best for
- New to Maurten
- Long distance training
- Low-intensity efforts
- Pre-session
- Cycling
No caffeine
Neutral taste
Hydrogel Technology
80 g carbs
Drink
Best for
- Racing
- High-intensity training
- Long efforts
- Cycling
No caffeine
Neutral taste, Optional Additions (Orange, Apple, Cola, Menthol)
Hydrogel Technology
80 g carbs
Drink
Best for
- Racing
- High-intensity training
- Cycling
Caffeine (100mg)
Neutral taste, Optional Additions (Orange, Apple, Cola, Menthol)
Hydrogel Technology
25 g carbs
Firm gel
Best for
- Racing
- High-intensity training
- Late-race fuel
Caffeine (100mg)
Neutral taste
Hydrogel Technology
For curated product selections tailored to the needs of specific sports.
Testing pre-Tour
Demi’s fueling strategy didn’t start the day of the Tour — it’s a process that goes back months. Maurten joined her in January to test her exogenous carbohydrate oxidation capacity — to determine how many of the carbohydrates she ingests during exercise is actually oxidized for energy. This 5-hour test involves consuming 120g of carbs per hour with Drink Mix 320 — 4 hours cycling outdoors and 1 hour on the home trainer. The idea behind this protocol is to be as specific to race demands as possible and to measure physiological markers once the cardiovascular, muscular, and digestive systems have already been under stress for a significant amount of time.
During the indoor portion of the session, Demi completed an incremental step test — a structured sequence of efforts at increasing intensities, each separated by one-minute breaks. These breaks serve two purposes: measuring blood lactate levels and allowing Demi to fuel by removing the mask for a few seconds.
During this final hour, Demi exhales into breath bags at regular intervals, allowing us to capture her expired CO2. Because the carbohydrate in Drink Mix is labelled with a ¹³C isotope, this CO2 acts as a marker, letting us calculate exactly how much of the carbohydrate she's burning comes from Drink Mix versus her own glycogen stores.
This is done alongside tests involving doubly labeled water to confirm Demi’s daily energy requirements. With these numbers, the team behind her nutrition is able to ensure her daily caloric needs on and off the bike, along with her in-race fuel plan, are exactly where they need to be to ensure healthy caloric intake and top performance.
"During a race, we really try to minimize the energy deficit and be in balance to optimize the recovery between stages and support performance for the entire race. For the nine stages, if you are in deficit one day, it's really hard on the Tour de France to restore the energy the next day. Because every day you spend a lot of energy, so you need to eat a lot. If one day you are 400 calories in deficit, you lose this energy for the next day."
— Elsa Hugot, Team Nutritionist of FDJ-Suez
