Cycling Foods

GCN recently released a video on the Top 10 Foods Not To Eat Whilst Cycling. Among that list is something we are quite fond of here at turning pages, and we are not sure we agree with their judgement. What do you think? ;)

Long Term Review: Tip Top Vanilla Icecream

Nutrition is a vital part of any athlete's regime, and the market is inundated with products claiming to be the next big thing for making riders faster. Gels, lollies, bars and drinks are all examples of products readily available in bike shops, sporting good stores and super markets, but there is a more readily available, less expensive alternative; Ice-cream. 

Found in Dairies, Cafes, Super markets and pretty much every where else with a freezer, Ice-cream is a readily available, inexpensive source of all the essentials for race day performance. Over the past year, I have been testing Tip Top New Zealand's Vanilla Ice-cream as a race day super food.

Available in multiple volumes ranging from single serves to 2 litres in most stores, Tip Top have an option for everyone's training and racing demands.

Avg Quantity Per Serving	Avg Quantity per 100G
Energy	397 kJ	863 kJ
	95 Cal	206 Cal
Protein	0.8 g	1.7 g
- gluten	0 mg	0 mg
Fat, total	5.0 g	10.9 g
- saturated	3.0 g	6.5 g
Carbohydrate	11.6 g	25.3 g
- sugars	9.0 g	19.6 g
Sodium	16 mg	35 mg

From the table above, it is clear that Ice-cream is an abundant source of carbohydrates and fats; both vital sources of fuel for endurance sport. Furthermore, Ice-cream is Gluten Free, made from all natural ingredients and the neutral vanilla flavour compliments many different combinations of extra ingredients. If Vanilla isn't your thing though, Tip Top make a range of other flavours to suit.

                              

The cardboard packaging used in the 1L model tested is nicely coloured and does a good job of preventing any leakage of Ice-cream. However, testers did find that the vertical orientation did make accessing the Ice-cream a bit difficult at times, especially without a long spoon.

The Ice-cream itself is lightly flavoured so as not to be over powering, with a consistent texture and colour. This is a testament to Tip Top’s high quality control and finely honed manufacturing process. That said, at times, especially with pre-race nerves, the Ice-cream could taste a little over sweet (a problem not encountered with certain “boutique” brands) but this could be balanced out by adding the Ice-cream to a milkshake with other ingredients to dilute the flavour a little. This also had the added advantage of making the Ice-cream easier to consume on a nervous stomach, as well as faster to digest.

The one problem testers encountered was the need for refrigeration. The coldness of Ice-cream is great for hot days, but does limit its use during a race, and requires access to a freezer for long term storage.

In use, Ice-cream performs admirably. In a series of tests comparing Ice-cream to both Yogurt and "running natural," testers reported feeling more energised on Ice-cream and thus performing better at races. This could be due to the nutritional value, but some theories suggest that the endorphins released during the consumption of "comfort foods" such as Ice-cream relax the athlete and keep them in a positive state of mind, preventing them from becoming too nervous pre-race and therefore riding better. 

Regardless of what the theories suggest, real life usage amongst testers has resulted in the belief that Ice-cream works. Although testers experimented with more expensive Organic and Hand-made varieties from various brands, we kept returning to the Tip Top Vanilla for sheer availability, reliability and low price

A top quality alternative to mainstream sports nutrition products that has been race proven.