When your legs start to feel heavy and your pedalling becomes rough, it's high time, otherwise there's a risk of a total collapse, which throws all ambitions overboard and turns the remaining kilometres of the race into agony. The only thing that can save exhausted cyclists now is an energy gel, a concentrated power substance from a sachet. 34 years ago, the Australian sports scientist and amateur athlete Dr Timothy Noakes developed the first gel of this kind, and today it is impossible to imagine sport without these small plastic bags. Whenever time is short and energy levels are high, cyclists reach for the sachet in their jersey pocket to squeeze out the pulpy liquid that is supposed to give them new strength. Since Noakes launched his "Squeezy" gel on the market, the number of nutritional supplements for athletes has skyrocketed.
We found out from nutritionist Uwe Schröder and professional trainer Robert Gorgos when it is best to use such gels and what else you need to bear in mind. The practical grades were determined with the help of the forice 89 association from Dachau, while the ingredients were assessed by the German Institute for Sports Nutrition.
Energy gels in the test
ManufacturerNamePriceBAAMEnergy Gel1,50 € (40g)Clif BarShot Energy Gel1,99 € (34g)ChimpanzeeEnergy Gel1,50 € (35g)EnervitSport Energy Gel2,25 € (25g)MultipowerMulticarbo Gel1,76 € (40g)NamedsportTotal Energy Carbo Gel1,50 € (51,2g)PowerbarPower Gel Original2,23 € (41g)SqueezyEnergy Gel1,66 € (33g)
Liquid gels in the test
ManufacturerProductPriceDextro EnergyLiquid gel1,89 € (60g)MoorsHydrogel Sports Fuel Gel 1003,12 € (40g)PowerbarPowergel Hydro1,95 € (67g)Sanct Bernhard SportLiquid Energy Pure1,36 € (50g)SponserLiquid Energy Plus1,70 € (70g)SqueezyDrink Gel1,94 € (60g)XenofitEnergy Hydro Gel1,90 € (60g)
You can find the entire test with all the advice in TOUR 04/2021.
Why not free of charge? Because quality journalism has its price. That's why we guarantee independence and objectivity. The TOUR tests are based on standardised and reproducible test procedures, which we always disclose. TOUR articles can be bought - TOUR test victories cannot!
In some of our websites we use so-called affiliate links. These are marked with an asterisk (*). If you click on such an affiliate link and make a purchase via this link, we receive a commission from the online shop or provider concerned (e.g. Rose or Amazon). This does not change the price for you.
