In the same vein as being able to drink safely on the bike, you also need to be able to eat safely.

Whereas taking a drink means reaching down to grab a bottle from the cage, eating will normally require reaching back into your jerseys pockets and retrieving an energy gel or bar – but this is only half the battle.

The next problem to overcome is opening whatever food you have. One way to go about it is to pre-open energy bars before the race and stick them into your pockets. However, I’m not a big fan of this as it seems a bit wasteful if you don’t eat the bars – and it’s also very messy with gels!

With all energy products I use in a race, I practice opening them and find the best and easiest way before I put anything in my back pockets. This often involves ripping the top open with my teeth. Another tip is to bang one end of an energy bar on your handlebar, thus pushing the bar upwards and forcing it through the top. Voila! One open bar (plus you will look a bit pro). As for gels, every brand of gel is slightly different so practice opening your preferred brand.

One thing I really want to stress is the importance of putting wrappers and packets back in your jersey pockets, so don’t forget to practice this as well. Nowadays even riders in the Tour de France are fined for littering, so please put all rubbish back in your pockets and dispose of it properly at the end of the race. This goes for all rides.