The effects of a carbohydrate-protein gel supplement on alpine slalom ski performance

Alpine slalom ski racing is a high intensity, complex sport in which racers execute turns every second. Acute fatigue can make the difference in not finishing a run (DNF) or finishing out of contention. The quantity and quality of training often dictates racing success. It is not known if nutritional supplementation can improve performance in this high intensity, short duration activity. The objective of this study was to determine if ingesting a carbohydrate-protein energy gel (GEL) improves finishing success and number of gates completed during 2 hr slalom sessions on two consecutive days of training. Twenty-four racers were matched; one group ingested the GEL, the second group received a liquid placebo (PLA). Total carbohy-drate, protein, and water ingested by the GEL group were 60g, 15g, and 450 mL, while the PLA group ingested 450 mL of PLA. The GEL group had significantly fewer DNF's (7/48 vs. 18/48; p = 0.02) on both days, completed a greater number of training gates on Day 2 (260.3 ± 20.1 vs. 246.3 ± 17.5 gates; p = 0.03), and had a lower RPE (3.9 ± 1.2 vs. 5.3 ± 1.2 on Day 2 (p = 0.004) vs. PLA. The statistical analysis of combined finishing times was not possible due to the high number of DNF's in the PLA group. High intensity slalom performance can be im-proved by the ingestion of an energy gel. The GEL allowed the athletes to improve training quantity and quality and their per-ception of effort was less than skiers who ingested a placebo. Key pointsNutritional supplementation with a carbohydrate/protein sports gel during high intensity ski training improved training volume as measured by the number gates completed.Supplementation also reduced the number of DNF's during training.Racers' perception of effort was significantly lower with the supplement ingestion compared to a non-caloric placebo.This applied study was conducted under real life field conditions and training environments.