Feed for speed
Next time you’re out for a ride, tip your cap to Andreas Marggraf, the German chemist who first isolated the simple sugar glucose in raisins in 1747. These days glucose is the vital ingredient in gels, bars and drinks, promising peak performance and sustained endurance. But what exactly is it and how can it be manipulated to benefit performance?
The ABC of ATP
Like an engine, muscles convert chemical energy into kinetic energy. They achieve this via three energy systems – two anaerobic, one aerobic – the duration and intensity of cycling dictating which one dominates. For each, the power to contract the muscle comes from adenosine triphosphate, or ATP.
The first
