Professional mountain bike athlete, Canadian National Enduro Champion (2025), third place at the UCI World Series the same year — and, when he's not flying down technical descents, a fourth-year business student at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Elliot juggles a lot, but one thing has always come first: mountain biking.
Behind the results, there's no secret formula — just a structured approach to training and racing. And for Elliot, nutrition is one of the biggest details of all. It's not an afterthought or a box to check: it's a true performance lever, as much a part of his preparation as time on the bike.
In this article, Elliot opens up his playbook and shares his best nutrition tips — from what he eats before a big enduro race to what's in his pack on a long ride — along with the lessons he's learned along the way.
Tip 1 - Prioritize complex carbs before and during rides
XACT Nutrition - Enduro race days can stretch 5 to 7 hours, with only a fraction spent on timed stages. D o you work with a target in grams per hour, and how did you land on your number?
Elliot Jamieson -
The night before race days, I look through the course map and plan out how I can reach about ~60-90 grams of carbs per hour between race stages. I found this range through trial and error in training, and it provides me the energy to maintain focus during the high-intensity race stages throughout the day, as well as keeping the engine running smoothly while recovering on long uphill liaisons.
XACT Nutrition - Take us through your exact fueling timeline on race morning: what do you eat, in what quantity, and how many hours before your start time?
Elliot Jamieson - I start race days eating a bowl of oatmeal, with as much fresh fruit, peanut butter, and maple syrup as I can, as well as two eggs on top (a controversial touch haha), usually 3 hours before race roll-out. This meal is always very hard to eat because of race day nerves, but I distract myself by watching GoPro footage of the day’s race stages. Then, right before roll-out, I will eat a banana and grab a coffee or, preferably, a yerba mate tea as a caffeine source.
XACT Nutrition - During long training days, what's the difference between how you fuel a high-intensity stage-simulation session versus a long endurance ride?
Elliot Jamieson - For a high-intensity stage-simulation session or interval session, my fuelling will be very similar to a race event, where I emphasize simple, fast-acting carb sources (XACT gels and fruit chews, as well as liquid carb mix) over ‘real-food’ sources such as Endurance bars or PBJ sandwiches. I will try to match my 60-90 grams of carbs per hour guideline during these types of sessions, as well as immediately smashing a post-ride Immediate Recovery shake!
In comparison, during long endurance sessions, I will usually rely on more complex carb sources such as Endurance bars, as well as homemade muffins and PBJ sandwiches. I find that during these sessions, which do not feature high-intensity efforts, I can keep my energy and gut more consistent, especially over consecutive days of a training block.
XACT Nutrition - Which XACT products have earned a permanent spot in your race-day kit, and what role does each one play ?
Elliot Jamieson - Each one has a crucial role to play, but the new fruit gels are amazing. Easy to digest, quick to eat, and with a yummy variety of flavours, I find these are my go-to’s all throughout race days!
Tip 2 - Smart hydratation, electrolytes and timing
XACT Nutrition - Hydration in enduro is tricky: you're climbing for an hour, then descending flat-out where you can't drink. How do you structure your fluid intake around that constraint — do you front-load on liaisons?
Elliot Jamieson - It is super tricky, but I find it best to maintain a rule of thumb of a bottle an hour! I will 100% front-load hydrating on liaisons, just to avoid that feeling of too much water in the stomach. I tend to run electrolytes and carb mix in the bottle, and for bigger races, I will run a backpack with plain water as a backup source in case I lose my bottle in a crash.
XACT Nutrition - What are the first warning signs of dehydration or sodium depletion you personally feel on the bike — and at what point is it too late to fix mid-race?
Elliot Jamieson - The biggest symptoms I’ll feel of dehydration or sodium depletion are cramping in my legs (hamstrings, quads, and calves), as well as an overwhelming cognitive tiredness. When I am feeling these symptoms, I will try to double up on a bottle of electrolytes, as well as stretch the cramping muscles. This can be fixed mid-race, but needs to be addressed immediately.
Tip 3 - Optimize Recovery
XACT Nutrition - What does your first hour post-race look like nutritionally?
Elliot Jamieson - Post-race and post-practice days, I will immediately smash an immediate recovery shake with soy milk for some added protein.
XACT Nutrition - On multi-day race weekends (practice day + race day, or back-to-back rounds), how does your nutrition strategy shift from day one to day two?
Elliot Jamieson - For practice days, I avoid consuming as many simple carb sources (energy bars and gels) and instead fuel like a long endurance session, focusing on real-food sources like endurance bars and PBJs. I do this to avoid a high sugar intake, saving it for race day, when I must rely on it to fuel the high-intensity race efforts.
For two-day races, I tend to avoid consuming as much caffeine in the later stages of Day 1, as I also want to prioritize a good night’s sleep between race Day 1 and 2. For Day 2, I will use much more caffeine in the later stages to combat the mental and physical drain.
I think the biggest recovery mistake a rider could make would be staying “jacked-up” on adrenaline between race days. I find it super important to slow down and relax after the first race day, and then gear back up for the second day. Sleep is crucial between these days, which is very challenging if you are still amped from the first day's racing.
Tip 4 - Anticipation in competition
XACT Nutrition - Race-day stress, adrenaline and a suppressed appetite are real. How do you make yourself stick to the plan when your body says "not hungry"? Have you ever paid the price for skipping a planned intake?
Elliot Jamieson - The easiest way to fight this is by using products with a great taste. I’ve used some bad-tasting or poorly-textured products in the past, and it makes fuelling very challenging. The variety of flavours XACT has prevents flavour fatigue, and I know I can look forward to gels, energy bars, and endurance bars that taste insane.
Tip 5 - Adapt nutrition to your discipline
XACT Nutrition - Compared to road cycling or XC, enduro combines long low-intensity liaisons with short maximal efforts. How does that intensity profile change what and when you eat compared to a steady-state sport?
Elliot Jamieson - The biggest difference is the deliberate timing of fuelling. As we are only able to fuel during the liaisons after racing stages, I plan each liaison to a T. A few key tips are:
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Time a gel or energy bar 15-30mins before each stage, and sip water up until dropping in.
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Smash a gel or energy bar immediately post-stage: I find this helps re-up energy levels for the next liaison and kickstarts the fuelling window while the muscles are recovering from the previous effort
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Stay on top of electrolytes by carrying a tube of tablets all day: each time I hit a water fill-up, I will make sure I add sodium to the bottle.
XACT Nutrition - Practically speaking: full-face helmet, gloves, technical terrain — eating on an enduro bike is a logistical problem. What are your actual tricks for getting calories in ?
Elliot Jamieson - Lately, I have been racing with a hydration pack more and more, as this has allowed me to carry more fuel and water all day. I’ll plan out what I put in each pocket of the pack and when I need to fuel to keep myself on track. I love the refillable XACT gel and chews holders, as I can fill these up and chip away at them all day.
Elliot heads into Bromont this weekend to defend his Canadian Enduro title, with XACT right there in his pack every step of the way. Follow along for the ride — and stay tuned for the results!
Follow Elliot Jamieson : @elliotjamieson