Two slices of white bread with chocolate spread can hardly be considered a substantial breakfast for a guy who measures 193 centimeter and weighs in at 90 kilos heading out on a brutal 90-kilometer ski race. But Andreas Nygaard doesn’t like to eat too much on race mornings. 

He doesn’t really eat a ton during the race either: Two tubes of sports gel without caffeine, two tubes of sports gel with caffeine and two liters of sports drink was all he consumed between start and finish in Vasaloppet.

Uses caffeine strategically
“I take caffeine in competitions to get the most out of my own performance, and I feel that caffeine has a real effect there,” says Nygaard.

In this context, the timing of the various gels is important.

The longer the race, the stronger Nygaard is. At the same time, he’s got a killer sprint finish. However, in order to capitalize on his strengths, Nygaard has to be as alert as possible when he approaches the finish line. Therefore, he stays away from caffeine the first half of the race. 

“I don’t want to take caffeine too early, so I don’t start eating the gels with caffeine until halfway through the race. For me, the caffeine boots peaks about 50 minutes to an hour after I take it, so I have to time my intake just right to make sure I get boost right before the sprint,” he says.

Nygaard obviously nailed it just right last Sunday: He won Vasaloppet by one second to Emil Persson in second place. 

Top 3 Vasaloppet, men
1. Andreas Nygaard, Team Ragde Charge., 3:32:18
2. Emil Persson, Lager157, +1.00
3. Axel Jutterström, Team Eksjöhus, +1.7

Complete results

Well fueled for the race 
While Nygaard is not greedy for breakfast the morning of a ski race, he certainly doesn’t show up to the start line without fuel. Before and after the race, Nygaard is known to dig in.

“In the days prior to Vasaloppet, I eat a lot. As in: A LOT. I graze on cinnamon rolls, brownies, ice cream and pick-a-mix candy literally all day long. Additionally, we eat solid meals with real food, like chicken and rice. So, given you have eaten well in the days leading up to the race, you do not need much on race day,” says Nygaard.

After the race, Nygaard gets busy refueling and rehydrating as soon as his stomach can handle it. 

“When you have raced 90 kilometers at a fast pace, it is important to refuel relatively quickly. But I think maybe it’s less important exactly what you refuel with,” he says, and continues:

“On Sunday I drank a lot right afterwards, and then it was over to O’Leary’s with a hamburger and a liter of beer. Then it continued with cinnamon croissants and chocolate and miscellaneous throughout the day and evening.”

Eats even less at the Birkie 
For the 54-kilomter Birkebeinerrennet, which takes place two weeks after Vasaloppet, Nygaard applies the same strategy leading up to the race.

“Following Vasaloppet, I have a week with more normal intake, but the last week before the Birkie I do pretty much the same as before the Vasaloppet: Eat a lot and graze all day. The breakfast on the race day is also the same. It is pretty standard for me,” says Nygaard.

But during the Birkie race, Nygaard eats even less than in Vasaloppet. This is both because the race is shorter and because it is less convenient to carry your own drink in the Birkie.

“I take less gel, and drink far less in Birken. The race lasts shorter, you have a backpack that needs to weigh 3.5 kilos, and there is a lot of uphill. You don’t want to have a lot of liquid on your back on top of the required pack,” says Nygaard.