‘It’s a performance thing’ - why riders are eating Calippos and Greggs steak bakes to fuel gold medals

In the era of marginal gains, riders are turning to childhood treats and savoury snacks to fuel their racing. 

Calippo ice lollies and steak bakes from bakery chain Greggs have been on the menu this weekend at the British National Track Championships. A nutritional nightmare, one might think, but the medal count shows the snacks are working. 

Warming down on her turbo trainer inside Manchester Velodrome, Kate Richardson ripped the lid off an orange Calippo and popped the lolly out of its wrapper. 

“It was from one of my team-mate’s dads,” the 21-year-old told Cycling Weekly, confused to have been asked about it. “He just gave it to us to cool down. But it’s actually a performance thing. 

“People now have slushies before their race to lower their body temperature. That wasn’t why I had the Calippo. I just fancied a Calippo. But there is actually a performance benefit. It’s a two in one.” 

So far, Richardson is one of the most successful riders at the championships, with two new national titles to her name. Her extensive training would have helped, of course, but there’s science in the ice lollies. 

When preparing for his Hour Record attempt, Dan Bigham ate mounds of ice slush to regulate his temperature. It’s a technique pioneered by sport scientist Teun van Erp, known as ‘Grandmaster Slush’, and also used by Filippo Ganna, who is said to have eaten 2.3kg of slush before his Hour Record world record. 

“Ideally, you’d do what he did,” said Will Roberts, who wandered around his pen gripping an ice lolly. “Normally it would be some fancy sort of beta fuel, with gels and carbs and all the works in it, as a slushie. But this is a sort of a cheap, easy fix. It’s basically crushed ice with carbs, but it helps you keep your temperature under control.

“People forget, it’s really hot in here. It’s like mid-20s [degrees celsius], but you can quite easily get a kind of mild heat stroke. Especially me being slightly sort of fat and ginger. It’s very good to keep your core under control, keep cool, from the inside out.” 

Roberts’ method helped him ride to a silver medal in the points race on Saturday night, in which he gained a lap on the field. “It wasn’t actually a Calippo,” he’s keen to point out. “It was a Rowntrees. I think Calippos are in high demand in Asda in Manchester.” 

Steak bake stomach settler

For new kilo national champion Aaron Pope, savoury snacks make for better performance fuel. 

The 24-year-old spent most of Saturday morning racked with pre-race nerves, and turned to high-street bakery chain Greggs to settle his stomach. 

“I wasn’t going to ride because I was getting in my head quite a bit,” he told Cycling Weely, wearing a gold medal around his neck. “I had a bit of a palava. Then I went to Greggs, had a few steak bakes, and I was good to go again.

“I was throwing up most of the morning and then a bit pre-race. But once I got a grip, it was ok.” 

Pope explained that his previous snack of choice was a jalapeño-based pastry, but he swapped recently to a milder option. “I throw up a lot in training,” he said. “The thing is, when you throw up as often as I do, you start to learn what tastes ok coming out the other way.”