Christoph Strasser broke the world record for 24h non drafting by riding 1026 km. His INSCYD coach Markus Kinzlbauer shares what it takes to perform such an amazing effort.

With 6 victories in the Race Across America and a world record in 24h indoor track cycling (941 km), Christoph Strasser was already considered the world’s best ultra cyclist.

Recently, he set a new 24h world record. He’s now the first person to ride more than 1000 km (620 mi) in 24 hours. One of his secrets?

“I have been doing this sport for 15 years and today the nutritional concept was the key to success.”
Christoph Strasser
24h world record holder

INSCYD coach Markus Kinzlbauer about the new world record

With 2 Olympic medals in handcycling (Tokyo) and many records in long-distance races, coach Kinzlbauer had a great season in 2021.

When asked about the 24h world record he says:

“Such a performance is highly dependent on the energy demand and intake. We experimented with nutrition intake. We tried a lot with sugar mixtures. During the race, we fed 116g/h in the first 12h and a total of almost 105g/h in the 24h.”

That equals about 4 bananas per hour.

In total Strasser consumed about 13.450 kcal during the 24h race. That’s about 5 times the recommended kcal intake for men, during a normal day. As you can imagine, that put’s a lot of stress on the digestive system. Especially during exercise.

To find the balance between consuming too much (digestive distress) and consuming not enough (running out of energy), coach Kinzlbauer used INSCYD:

“One of the puzzle pieces in the training prior to this historical benchmark was the INSCYD PPD test. We used the fat and carbohydrate combustion graph to calculate nutrition intake and pacing, and saw that the results were extremely reliable.”

Fat & carbohydrate combustion graph
This graph answers the question: how much carbohydrates should I consume at any given exercise intensity? It can also be used the other way around: what exercise intensity can I maintain, given the fact that I’m able to consume X carbohydrates per hour?

Learn more about creating fueling (nutrition) and pacing plans, based on the carbohydrate combustion rate of your athlete. Read this article and download the whitepaper: How carbohydrate combustion rates determine pacing and fueling.

“With the INSCYD metabolic breakdown data, it was easy to calculate what's possible.”
INSCYD coach Markus Kinzlbauer
Markus Kinzlbauer
Coach of Christoph Strasser

The data of a 24 hour cycling world record

Despite a rainy day and a flat tire, Christoph Strasser was able to ride 1026 km (636 mi) in 24 hours, resulting in an average speed of 42,75 kph (26,5 mph).

  • Time: 24 hours
  • Distance: 1026 km
  • Speed: 42,75 kph
  • Power avg: 272 watt
  • Heart rate: 136 bpm
  • Strava file

Learn more about long distance events

Want to learn more about long distance racing? Check out this article: Go long, Ultra long. Or read how Certified Sports Nutritionist Coach Sofi Marin creates nutrition plans for ultra endurance events: mastering nutrition.

Want to immediately start creating your own nutrition and pacing plan for any endurance race? Go to this article, fill in the form, and receive the whitepaper for free.

Coaches can also get in touch with us and get a free demo, in which we can further explain how you can use INSCYD to create training, racing and nutrition plans.