Effect of Iso–Caloric Sago and Soy Supplementations during 90 Minutes Steady–State Cycling on Subsequent 20–km Cycling Time Trial Performance in the Heat

In Asian countries, like Malaysia, India, and Thailand, sago (SA) is frequently used as daily food. The use of local daily food as supplements over expensive drinks is cost–effective for athletes. Hence, SA (carbohydrate) could be recommended as affordable nutrition ingestion. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of SA, Soy (SO) protein, Sago+Soy (SS) supplementation (combination of carbohydrate and protein), and placebo (PL) during moderate–intensity cycling on subsequent 20–km time trial performance.

The participants were 12 young male well–trained cyclists from Malaysia. They pedaled at 60% of VO2max for 90 min followed by a 20–km time trial (TT) in the heat. At 20 min intervals during cycling at 60% VO2max, participants consumed either SA, SO, SS, or a PL. The SA, SO, and SS feedings provided 7.5% SA, 7.5% SO, and 7.5% SA+1.5% SO respectively to drink iso–caloric beverages with an estimated energy level ~300 kcal. The average speed and cadence were also recorded during the TT.

Time taken for TT for SA, SO, SS, and PL were 42.8±1.8 min, 46.3±2.6 min, 42.7±2.3 min, and 43.2±1.8 min respectively. The TT performance, speed, and cadence of the cyclists did not exhibit any significant differences among the three trials.

These data indicated that consumption of sago and soy, and iso–caloric SS (coingestion of sago and soy) during steady–state ride failed to improve the subsequent cycling performance in the heat.