DAIL N FOR NUTRITION

Could a smartphone app be the key to hitting your nutritional needs and reaching your riding goals? Simon Fellows finds out

I knew I was in trouble when my belly started squashing against my quads while on the drops. It was during an early new year ride that I first noticed it, a ride that also felt unreasonably challenging, given it was just a brief potter around my local Cotswold hills. Christmas had craftily gifted me a generous portion of belly-fat while robbing me of a chunk of fitness.

It wasn't entirely Santa's fault. I don't mind riding in miserable weather, but I draw the line at ice. The icy conditions in December and January left me sitting forlornly on my rollers spinning out recovery rides from non-existent efforts.

By early February I was desperate to regain a healthy weight and a good level. of fitness in anticipation of the warmer spring rides that were just weeks away. But to achieve these goals, I knew that I needed help.

For physiology evaluation and fitness planning, I turned to Jonathan Robinson, applied sport scientist at Team Bath's Human Performance Centre at the University of Bath (see boxout). I knew that, to honour Robinson's efforts to improve my fitness, I'd need to improve my eating habits too. Instead of enlisting a nutritionist, I put my trust in a smartphone app.

I needed a solution that was responsive enough to cope with the complexities of life without the expense of having a nutritionist on call 24/7. Four apps made my shortlist: MyFitnessPal, Eat MyRide, Cronometer and Hexis. The latter appealed the most. Hexis is a relatively new app that has Dr Sam Impey's class-leading work on carbohydrate periodisation at its core. Impey, a Hexis co-founder, is also lead nutritionist at British Cycling, making him a name I was happy to trust.

Testing times