CEO and GU Crew Test Limits at Tour of California

GU Energy Labs Chief Endurance Officer Brian Vaughan is leading an assembly of co-workers and associates in the Tour of California 2015 route in an effort to garner scientific data and test the company’s nutritional performance under the most challenging of circumstances.

Beginning Sunday, May 10th, Vaughan and a rotating crew of up to twenty riders will awaken at dawn to tackle each stage of the Tour of California (ToC), rolling through each of the eight stages three hours in front of the pro peloton, which this year includes Pro Tour teams such as Cannondale-Garmin, Team Sky and top domestic squads like Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies.

The ride is being undertaken as an extended – and extensive – testing lab, focused on the demands placed on the human body during extreme endurance exercise. Several of the riders, including Vaughan, have been subject to rigorous physiological testing through a powerful scientific platform from InsideTracker, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based leader in blood-based biomarker analyses. InsideTracker is using pre-and-post ride blood draws and detailed analysis to help the riders refine their diets and nutrition plans for the eight-day challenge. Riders are testing general dietary interventions in combination with existing and new GU products.

Test subjects riding the ToC include Vaughan, Yuri Hauswald (GU Sports Marketing Manager) and a strong assembly of graduates of the NorCal High School Cycling League, an organization that Berkeley-based GU has long supported. The group will be joined by Julie Violich and her Bear Development Team for one stage and Team Rokform, another top developmental team, during Stage Seven.

“GU is serious about diet and nutrition planning and how they support peak athletic performance and well-being,” said Vaughan. “The Tour of California and our work with InsideTracker is an opportunity for us to conduct field tests that will produce learnings on diet and nutrition planning in an extreme, multi-day endurance setting.”

“Our scientists at InsideTracker are thrilled be working with GU and have the opportunity to study these super human athletes,” said Dr. Gil Blander Founder and Chief Science Officer of InsideTracker. “The information contained within these biomarkers provide science-based insights that can help GU build nutrition plans and training programs that aid in ensuring peak of performance.”

Visit GUEnergy.com/blog for latest updates on GU testing at the 2015 Tour of California, downloadable ride cards, and more.

###

ABOUT GU ENERGY LABS

GU is a leading sports nutrition brand founded in Berkeley, CA in 1993. GU’s products help athletes hydrate, energize, and recover optimally before, during, and after demanding endurance activities. Discover the potential of nutrition planning by visiting www.GUEnergy.com