“A lot of people don’t eat enough on the bike and we’ve all done it,” Mitchell says – and it will certainly be a familiar story for many cyclists out there.

“You bonk while you’re riding, come back and then just raid the kitchen and eat everything.”

It is particularly important for riders on a diet to manage their energy intake on the bike – and the key is to plan ahead.

Calorie intake on the bike depends on how far you plan to ride, and at what intensity you intend to ride at.

As many riders will know, if you only begin to eat on the bike when you are hungry then  it is too often late, but what should you be eating and when?

“It’s determined by what you are doing,” Mitchell confirms. “If you are doing an hour-and-a-half then you don’t really need much. I only tend to have a banana.

A lot of people don’t eat enough on the bike and we’ve all done it. You bonk while you’re riding and then just raid the kitchen and eat everything

“If you are doing three hours steady, then something like a banana or a bar every hour is important just to keep yourself topped up.

“If you are doing five, six hours then it’s another matter again. For us as a team, protein is very important then. Generally, amateur riders won’t be doing that but they might do three to five hours and adding something with protein in is really good.”

Team Sky, for example, will use CPN’s protein supplements – one scoop in a drink for such rides – while extra food, with flapjacks being Mitchell’s recommendation, can also be a great top-up.

And the benefit is two-fold with your body using some of that protein for energy, but also using it to protect muscle mass.