The surge, the climb, the sprint.

What is a “lactic acid gel” for cycling?

It is a gel you rub on your legs to buffer the acid that builds up during hard efforts — not a gel that contains lactic acid, and not an energy gel you eat. Riders use the phrase for products like LactiGo, which carries carnosine, a buffer your muscles already make, through the skin over the working muscle.

The name comes from the old idea that lactic acid is what makes your legs burn. The modern picture is that the acid of hard efforts is hydrogen ions, released faster than the muscle can clear them once you go above a pace you can hold. Carnosine is one of the muscle’s own buffers against exactly that. So the gel is aimed at the moment the effort gets hard, not at the steady miles in between.

Does carnosine gel work for cyclists?

Yes, for repeated maximal efforts — and the best trial on it was done on a bike. Beaven et al. 2025 tested seven world-class rugby sevens players on a calibrated Wattbike cycle ergometer: twelve rounds of 24 seconds at 3 W/kg, 6 seconds flat out and 30 seconds’ rest, with a two-minute break after the sixth. Each player did it once on LactiGo and once on a placebo gel with the same 1.25% menthol, applied 10 ml per leg, 45 minutes before.

• Peak power across the twelve sprints: 5–10% higher on LactiGo in the authors’ summary.
• Sprint 7: 1426 W vs 1270 W on placebo — an extra 156 W. Sprint 2: 1433 W vs 1332 W. Sprint 4: 1347 W vs 1244 W.
• The biggest single-sprint gap, 11.4%, came in sprint 10 — deep into the set, when the efforts had stacked up.
• Triple-blind: riders, testers and analysts did not know which gel was which until the statistics were done.

One study in trained male cyclists doing repeated 30-second Wingate tests saw no change — a reminder that this gel is built for short, repeated surges rather than steady endurance riding, and the 2025 authors note that peak wattages in that study fell outside the accurate range of the power meter used. Every trial, positive and null, is laid out on the evidence page.

Which kinds of cycling does it suit?

The kinds that are decided by surges: criteriums, track, mountain bike, cyclocross, and road races that come down to attacks on the climbs and a sprint. The trial protocol — 6 seconds flat out, 30 seconds’ rest, again and again — is close to a crit lap or a technical MTB loop, and a long way from a steady three-hour endurance ride.

How do you use carnosine gel on race day?

Put 10 ml on each leg — about ten pumps, over the quads and calves — 45 minutes before the start. That is the dose and timing the trial used. Work it in on clean, dry skin before you pull your bibs on, and let it dry.

• Why reapply for a second race: in the absorption study, muscle carnosine was up at 30 and 60 minutes and back to baseline by 120. The trials tested one application; for a later start, treat it as a fresh one.
• Keep it on the big working muscles. The label says avoid skin folds and mucous membranes, so keep it well away from the chamois area.
• Test it in training first. Run a set of sprints or a hill-repeat session you already know, once without and once with the gel, and compare the numbers on your head unit.

Should cyclists use the menthol or menthol-free version?

Either — pick by feel. The trial’s placebo contained the same 1.25% menthol as LactiGo, so the power gain came from the carnosine, not the cooling. Some riders like the tingle on the start line; others prefer the menthol-free version, especially for long days in the sun or if menthol irritates their skin.

If you are wondering whether the cool feeling is the whole trick, this breakdown of the menthol-matched trial answers it.

Is LactiGo allowed in UCI racing?

Yes. UCI racing runs under the World Anti-Doping Code, and carnosine is not on the WADA prohibited list. Every batch of LactiGo is also Informed Sport tested for banned substances, and you can look up the batch number on your own bottle.

Racing under a testing programme? Our anti-doping page walks through the prohibited list and the batch lookup step by step.

How does carnosine gel compare with beta-alanine and bicarbonate for cyclists?

All three aim at the same thing — buffering the acid of hard efforts — but the gel is the only one that needs neither weeks of loading nor a stomach that tolerates baking soda. Beta-alanine needs 4–6 g a day for at least 2–4 weeks, and sodium bicarbonate is taken 60–180 minutes before and is known for gut trouble.

For a race this weekend that you did not load for, the gel is the one that can still help. The longer comparison is in carnosine gel vs beta-alanine.

Your next race

If your races are won and lost on the surges, LactiGo targets exactly that: tested triple-blind on a bike ergometer, 5–10% more peak power across repeated sprints, Informed Sport tested batch by batch. At the trial dose a 100 ml bottle covers about five race days — roughly $11 each.

Put it on 45 minutes before your next crit, cross race or hill session and watch the power file. It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee — here is where to buy it.