Functional ingredients manufacturer BENEO supplied endurance athlete Stefan Schlegel with his main source of energy during the 2014 Race Across America (RAAM).
The 37-year-old personal trainer from Germany finished fifth (Solo Male Under 50) and completed the race in 10 days, 14 hours and 32 minutes, improving his 2012 finish by an impressive 15 hours. His accomplishment is all the more admirable when considering that he suffered from a bad injury on the first day of the race after puncturing a tyre.
BENEO's Palatinose helped him keep up his energy levels during the race.
The RAAM is a gruelling 3,000 mile cross-country competition from Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD. It is 30% longer than the Tour de France and participants must complete the distance in a maximum of 12 days.
Nutrition is a key factor for the cyclists. Prepared with the assistance of a nutritionist, Schlegel’s diet consisted of 12,000 to 14,000 calories each day consumed via 3.9 to 6.6 gallons of liquids. These liquid meals contained 20% protein, 20% fat and 60% carbohydrates.
Every day Schlegel consumed 2lbs of Palatinose, which provides carbohydrate energy in the form of glucose in a balanced and sustained way. The product has a mild sugar-like sweetness and can easily be incorporated into all kinds of liquid foods, not only isotonic sports drinks but also in soups. It is said to be well tolerated even at high daily consumption rates.
'With Palatinose I did not experience a single hunger pang during the race, never felt a lack of energy and my blood glucose level remained constant, which is crucial for endurance races,' said Schlegel.
