You don’t need a degree in sports science or nutrition to know that one key to maximizing your efforts on the bike or in the gym is proper nutrition during and after a workout.
While manufacturers of sports nutrition products might scare athletes into thinking they need to consume an exact mix of carbs, protein, electrolytes and vitamins in a tiny 15-minute window, sports scientist Christie Aschwanden, author of “Good to Go,” assures athletes in our Training Tuesday interview with her that real food within hours of a workout should be sufficient for recovery.
Yet we all know it’s not always easy to grab a complete meal during or after a cyclocross or gravel race, hot lap session or trainer workout. Hydration drinks, recovery drinks and gels offer convenient and hopefully pleasant-tasting calories during and after workouts, and there are certainly a ton of options out there.
Training Tuesday: Five New Fuels for cyclocross training.
We’ve recently received a number of athlete-oriented drinks from Asend Nutrition, Tailwind, OSMO, Born and Fast AF for review, and for today’s Training Tuesday installment, we offer up our impressions on them below. Note we do not attest to any performance benefits of such products. There’s absolutely no way we have the lab equipment and controlled environment to test such products quantitatively.
Instead, we’ve commented on taste, offered meaningful stats on cost per serving, and give you some insight into the company and ingredients.
See all five brands’ new nutrition products in the slider below.
Happy riding and refueling!
Asend Nutrition
Asend was founded by pro racer Jamey Driscoll and Mark Flis. The upside of starting your own hydration company is that you know you’ve got a nutrition sponsor for your cyclocross racing. Asend’s logo decorates Driscoll’s shoulders while he races cyclocross.
Driscoll climbed Mt. Krumpit to 15th. 2019 Jingle Cross Sunday UCI C1, Elite Men. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
When Driscoll isn’t chasing UCI cyclocross points or a coveted Iceman title, he’s working on promoting his new brand. Using only real foods and sugars, Driscoll created Asend to meet the needs of elite and amateur athletes alike.
Asend Nutrition offers three hydration mix flavors (Strawberry Acai is not pictured), and one recovery mix. Five Fuels for cyclocross training. Training Tuesday. © Cyclocross Magazine
Asend offers three flavors of hydration mix, Strawberry Acai, Lemon Blackcurrant and Cranberry Tart Cherry. Additionally, Asend produces a Chocolate Spice protein recovery mix.
All the flavors of hydration are available as a resealable 16 serving bag for $22.00, individually packaged servings for $2.00 each or an eight single-serve pack for $14.50. A serving is intended to be mixed with 20-22oz of water and provides 100 calories.
A serving is one scoop or a pre-packaged sleeve, and provides calories mostly in the form of cane sugar. Asend uses no synthetic ingredients and flavor comes directly from fruit and electrolytes are added.
Jamey Driscoll’s Asend Nutrition hydration mixes boast natural fruit flavors and tiny fruit pieces. The strawberry acai flavor (not pictured) was our fave. That package is long gone, thanks mostly to a thirsty 8-year-old. Five Fuels for cyclocross training. Training Tuesday. © Cyclocross Magazine
We’re fans of the flavors, as they don’t taste like you’re drinking a concoction of chemicals. One eight-year-old tester may have finished the Strawberry Acai all himself, but didn’t enjoy the Lemon Blackcurrant and Cranberry Tart Cherry quite as much. Perhaps it’s because they’re not as sweet?
While the Asend nutrition flavors are some of our favorites, the mixes are quite pricey at $1.38 per serving. You’ll hopefully enjoy every sip while feeling warm and fuzzy because you’re supporting a cyclocrosser. Hopefully, the price does not leave a bitter taste.
Asend Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 100 per serving
Total Fat: 0g
Saturated Fat: 0g
Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 400 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 25g
Dietary Fiber: <1g
Total Sugars: 24g
Protein: 0g
Vitamin D: 0mcg
Calcium: 53mg
Iron: <1g
Potassium: 100mg
Vitamin C: 41mg
Magnesium: 50mg
Chloride: 40mg
Price per calorie (16 serving bag): $.14
Price per serving: $1.38
More info: asendnutrition.com
Asend’s recovery mix offers similar packaging options with a 16 serving bag retailing for $38.00, a single-serve sleeve for $3.50, or an eight pack for $28.00. As a post-workout supplement, the chocolate spice mix uses two scoops or one sleeve per 8oz of water and provides 12g of protein and 36g of carbohydrate for 200 calories.
Asend’s Protein Recovery Mix uses an interesting mix of spices that include cinnamon, turmeric, ginger and cayenne
The chocolate spice mix, when mixed with water, tastes like chocolatey water with spices. It’s better mixed with almond milk or dairy milk. With the hint of spices, it’s even better warmed up. Hot spiced chocolate anyone?
Sip slowly. It’s quite pricey at $2.38 a serving.
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 200 per serving
Total Fat: 1.5g
Saturated Fat: <1g
Trans Fat: <1g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g
Monounsaturated Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 200mg
Total Carbohydrate: 36g
Dietary Fiber: <1g
Total Sugars: 34g
Protein: 12g
Vitamin D: 0mcg
Calcium: 77mg
Iron: <1g
Potassium: 140mg
Phosphorus: 26mg
Magnesium: 70mg
Price per calorie (16 serving bag): $.01
Price per serving: $2.38
More info: asendnutrition.com
Hit next for our impressions of Tailwind, OSMO, Born and Fast AF products.
