Nutrition. . real food vs gels etc.

[landsurfer]

Lots of stuff in the cycling press about nutrition and various " gel " products.
Surly there is a racing / sportive diet that is based on actual food ?
And if so where is it published.
I understand the need for diet control to achieve high standards , but there must be away on actual food ???

[TrevA]

Gels and energy drinks are a quick way of getting a few calories inside you ie without having to stop riding. They should only be used on the bike and even then only when you are in a competitive situation - race or sportive or in serious training for these, to get your body used to using them. I never use gels and hardly ever use energy drinks. I much prefer a cafe stop half way round my rides, with real food and tea/coffee.

My son races to quite a high standard (elite/1st cat) and he does use gels and energy drinks whilst racing but still goes with the cafe stop on a training ride.

[Norman H]

There's no problem eating real food when racing if you can persuade your fellow competitors to wait outside the cafe whilst you eat your cake.

Racers do eat real food but there's a limit to how much you can carry when racing. That's why you see them picking up musettes and using domestiques as beasts of burden. I don't know of published diets. You can pretty much eat whatever you fancy if it works for you. Small bite size and not too messy is best.

Sportives are different, of course, because nobody is racing.