Can Baking Soda Improve Cycling Performance?

Baking soda probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind when you think about performance supplements.

Caffeine, creatine, carbohydrates, and nitrates tend to get most of the attention. Sodium bicarbonate, despite decades of research supporting its potential benefits during high-intensity exercise, rarely gets the same recognition.

Part of that is probably because it sounds ridiculous.

The idea that something sitting in your kitchen cabinet could improve athletic performance seems almost too simple.

There's also the issue of gastrointestinal discomfort. Anyone who's experimented with traditional sodium bicarbonate loading knows that taking a large amount before training isn't always a pleasant experience.

But the underlying physiology is legitimate.

And a new 2026 study published in the European Journal of Sport Science provides some interesting evidence that sodium bicarbonate may help well-trained cyclists sustain higher power outputs during demanding interval sessions.

The researchers found that sodium bicarbonate supplementation increased average power output during high-intensity intervals and repeated maximal sprints by approximately 2% compared with placebo.

They also found that cyclists spent more time exercising above 90% of their VO₂max.

For an experienced cyclist, those differences are worth examining.

The bigger question is whether those short-term improvements translate into meaningful performance or training benefits.

How Sodium Bicarbonate Works During Exercise

To understand why baking soda might improve performance, we need to talk about what happens inside working muscles during hard exercise.

When exercise intensity increases, the demand for ATP rises dramatically.

The body responds by accelerating several energy-producing pathways, including glycolysis.

During demanding exercise, hydrogen ions can accumulate, contributing to changes in muscle acidity that interfere with normal muscle function.

This is where sodium bicarbonate becomes interesting.

Sodium bicarbonate acts as an extracellular buffer. Supplementing with it increases bicarbonate concentrations in the blood and raises blood pH.

That creates a more favorable gradient for hydrogen ions to move out of working muscle cells.

Theoretically, this helps athletes maintain high-intensity exercise performance as fatigue develops.

It's worth clarifying something here.

Sodium bicarbonate doesn't prevent lactate production, and lactate itself isn't the substance responsible for making muscles acidic.

In fact, blood lactate concentrations can increase with sodium bicarbonate supplementation, which is exactly what happened in this study.

The potential benefit comes from helping the body manage acid-base disturbances during demanding exercise.

That makes sodium bicarbonate particularly interesting for repeated intervals, hard surges, and sprint efforts.

How the Researchers Conducted the Study

The researchers recruited 24 well-trained cyclists, including 15 men and nine women.

These weren't recreational cyclists occasionally getting out for a weekend ride.

Their aerobic fitness levels were impressive.

The study used a randomized, double-blind, crossover design.

Each cyclist completed two experimental sessions, receiving sodium bicarbonate before one session and a placebo before the other.

This is a useful design because participants essentially serve as their own controls.

Supplementation Protocol

Participants consumed approximately 0.26 grams of sodium bicarbonate per kilogram of body weight, exactly two hours before exercise.

Importantly, the researchers used a commercially available bicarbonate delivery system consisting of small tablets dispersed in a carbohydrate hydrogel.

Both the sodium bicarbonate and placebo conditions included approximately 40 grams of carbohydrate.

That's relevant because the delivery method may influence gastrointestinal tolerance.

For a 70 kg athlete, the study's dose would be approximately 18.2 grams of sodium bicarbonate.

That's a substantial amount, and it shouldn't be confused with simply adding a little baking soda to a pre-workout drink.

The Exercise Protocol

Each experimental session included three demanding components.

First, a submaximal step test. This allowed researchers to evaluate cycling economy, oxygen consumption, and other physiological responses at controlled workloads.

Second, five high-intensity interval sets. Each five-minute set included three 40-second maximal efforts separated by 60 seconds of lower-intensity cycling. Sets were separated by four minutes of recovery.

Third, four maximal Wingate sprints. Following the intervals and a 10-minute rest, participants performed four 30-second all-out sprints, with four minutes of active recovery between efforts.

I particularly like the structure of this protocol.

Rather than testing a single isolated sprint, the researchers examined performance across repeated demanding efforts, including sprints performed after substantial accumulated fatigue.

That's much closer to what endurance athletes encounter during difficult training sessions and competition.

Finding #1: Sodium Bicarbonate Increased Interval Power by 2%

The first major finding was an improvement in average power output during the high-intensity interval sets.

Across all five intervals, cyclists produced approximately 2% more power after sodium bicarbonate supplementation.

The difference was statistically significant, although the p-value was close to the conventional 0.05 threshold.

Interestingly, the benefit became most apparent toward the end of the session.

During the fifth interval, power output was approximately 3.4% higher with sodium bicarbonate than placebo.

Earlier intervals did not show individually significant differences.

This makes physiological sense.

During the first few efforts, athletes may have enough buffering capacity to maintain performance without additional bicarbonate.

As repeated high-intensity efforts accumulate, the demands on acid-base regulation become greater.

That's when supplemental bicarbonate may become more useful.

For a trained cyclist, an additional 2% in average power isn't trivial.

But we should also acknowledge the variability. The reported individual differences were substantial, so not every athlete experienced the same benefit.

Finding #2: Cyclists Spent More Time Above 90% of VO₂max

This might be the most interesting finding from a training perspective.

One objective of high-intensity interval training is to accumulate time exercising near maximal oxygen uptake.

Spending time above 90% of VO₂max is commonly used as an indicator of the aerobic stimulus provided by demanding interval sessions.

In this study, sodium bicarbonate increased the time cyclists spent above that threshold.

The overall mean difference was approximately 23.7 seconds per interval, with considerable variability between participants.

The differences were particularly noticeable during intervals three, four, and five.

These percentages look dramatic, but they require context.

They represent relative differences in time above the threshold during individual intervals, not percentage improvements in VO₂max.

A large percentage increase can also reflect a relatively small baseline duration.

Still, the finding is interesting because athletes were able to accumulate more time at very high oxygen uptake during the same overall interval structure.

One plausible explanation is that bicarbonate allowed them to sustain higher power outputs, which increased the oxygen demand of the exercise.

The researchers also found higher oxygen uptake during later intervals.

The study only evaluated acute exercise responses.

It didn't follow participants through weeks or months of training to determine whether sodium bicarbonate produced greater aerobic adaptations.

Finding #3: Repeated Sprint Performance Improved, Especially When Athletes Were Fatigued

After completing the interval sets, cyclists performed four maximal 30-second Wingate sprints.

This is where sodium bicarbonate demonstrated another meaningful benefit.

Average sprint power increased from 599.9 W with placebo to 611.5 W with sodium bicarbonate.

That represents an improvement of approximately 2%, with a statistically significant overall condition effect (p = 0.002).

Once again, the later efforts were particularly interesting.

The third sprint improved by approximately 3.2%, while the fourth improved by 3.1%.

Those were the sprints with individually significant differences.

This suggests that bicarbonate may be especially useful when athletes need to repeat maximal efforts after fatigue has already accumulated.

Think about situations such as attacking during the final kilometers of a cycling race, repeatedly accelerating out of corners, or performing hard intervals near the end of a demanding session.

These are situations where maintaining a little more power could matter.

However, the study did not directly test actual race performance, so these applications remain plausible rather than proven.

Finding #4: Blood Bicarbonate and pH Increased

The physiological measurements provide a useful explanation for the performance findings.

Before exercise, blood bicarbonate concentrations were approximately:

That's an increase of roughly 4.7 mmol/L.

Blood pH was also significantly higher following sodium bicarbonate supplementation.

These differences persisted throughout the experimental session, although the bicarbonate advantage became smaller as exercise progressed.

This is consistent with the proposed buffering mechanism.

The body was entering exercise with greater extracellular bicarbonate availability.

During demanding efforts, that additional buffering capacity may have helped participants tolerate the metabolic demands of repeated high-intensity work.

Interestingly, blood lactate was also significantly higher in the bicarbonate condition after exercise began.

Some people might assume that higher lactate means greater fatigue.

That's an oversimplification.

Lactate is produced during normal energy metabolism and can be used as a fuel by other tissues.

Higher blood lactate in this context may reflect greater glycolytic activity, altered lactate transport, and the ability to sustain higher exercise intensities.

The study's findings are consistent with the buffering hypothesis, although the researchers did not directly measure what was happening inside the muscle cells.

Finding #5: Sodium Bicarbonate Did Not Improve Cycling Economy

This is another finding I think deserves attention.

Sodium bicarbonate improved performance during high-intensity exercise, but it did not improve the physiological determinants of submaximal cycling performance that the researchers measured.

Cycling economy. The amount of oxygen required to sustain a given submaximal workload remained essentially unchanged (p = 0.977).

Fractional utilization of VO₂max. The percentage of maximal oxygen uptake used at a given workload was also unaffected (p = 0.818).

That tells us something about where bicarbonate is most likely to be useful.

It doesn't appear to make steady-state cycling more economical.

Instead, its benefits seem concentrated in exercise situations where repeated high-intensity efforts place greater demands on acid-base regulation.

This distinction matters for endurance athletes.

Someone riding at a relatively comfortable, steady pace for several hours shouldn't assume bicarbonate will make that effort easier.

Its value may be greater during intervals, attacks, surges, and sprint finishes.

Finding #6: Gastrointestinal Problems Were Surprisingly Limited

One of the biggest practical problems with sodium bicarbonate supplementation is gastrointestinal discomfort.

Traditional bicarbonate loading can cause nausea, bloating, stomach pain, diarrhea, and other unpleasant symptoms.

The amount used in this study was substantial.

However, the researchers found no significant differences between bicarbonate and placebo for most gastrointestinal symptoms.

The one exception was burping, which was significantly higher with sodium bicarbonate.

That's encouraging.

But there's an important reason we shouldn't generalize these findings to every bicarbonate supplement.

The researchers used the Maurten Bicarb System, which delivers bicarbonate in small tablets dispersed within a carbohydrate hydrogel.

That delivery method may affect how the bicarbonate is tolerated.

The researchers also used a single acute dose in a controlled laboratory setting.

Individual tolerance can vary considerably.

If an athlete is considering sodium bicarbonate for competition, testing the strategy during training rather than on race day would be essential.

How Much Sodium Bicarbonate Did the Athletes Take?

The researchers used approximately 0.26 grams per kilogram of body weight.

Here is what that looks like at different body weights.

These are illustrations of the research protocol, not individualized dosing recommendations.

It's also important to remember that sodium bicarbonate contains a substantial amount of sodium.

A 20-gram dose of sodium bicarbonate contains approximately 5.5 grams of sodium.

That's far more sodium than most people consume in a typical sports drink.

The sodium load, potential fluid shifts, and gastrointestinal effects all deserve consideration.

People with kidney disease, uncontrolled hypertension, heart failure, sodium-restricted diets, or medications that affect fluid and electrolyte balance should not experiment with this kind of supplementation without medical guidance.

Sodium bicarbonate can also cause clinically important acid-base disturbances if used improperly.

Does This Mean Baking Soda Can Improve VO₂max?

This is where I think the study could easily be misinterpreted.

The researchers found that cyclists accumulated more time above 90% of VO₂max during high-intensity interval exercise.

That is potentially useful because time spent near maximal oxygen uptake is one factor associated with aerobic training adaptations.

But the study did not demonstrate that sodium bicarbonate increased VO₂max.

It also did not establish that using bicarbonate repeatedly during training produces better long-term results.

To answer that question, researchers would need to follow athletes through a structured training program.

Ideally, one group would complete high-intensity sessions using sodium bicarbonate while another used placebo.

Researchers could then compare changes in VO₂max, power at lactate threshold, time-trial performance, and other meaningful outcomes.

Until those studies are available, the appropriate conclusion is narrower.

What About Beta-Alanine?

Sodium bicarbonate and beta-alanine are sometimes discussed together because both are associated with buffering exercise-related acidity.

However, they work differently.

Sodium bicarbonate primarily increases extracellular buffering capacity.

Beta-alanine increases muscle carnosine concentrations over time, which contributes to intracellular buffering.

That means bicarbonate can be used acutely, while beta-alanine generally requires consistent supplementation over several weeks to increase muscle carnosine.

The distinction is important because these ingredients shouldn't be treated as interchangeable.

It's also worth noting that this study did not test beta-alanine or a combination of beta-alanine and sodium bicarbonate.

We therefore can't use these results to determine whether combining the two would produce additional benefits.

What This Means for Endurance Athletes

I think the practical value of this study depends heavily on the type of training or competition someone is doing.

For cyclists completing repeated high-intensity intervals, the findings are encouraging.

A 2% increase in power output, particularly during later intervals, could allow an athlete to complete a slightly more demanding session.

For cyclists racing events with repeated attacks, accelerations, and sprint efforts, bicarbonate may also have potential value.

The same buffering mechanism could be relevant to other sports involving repeated high-intensity efforts, although this study only tested cycling.

For steady-state endurance exercise, the findings are less compelling.

There was no improvement in cycling economy or fractional utilization of VO₂max.

And for athletes already struggling with gastrointestinal issues during training or competition, the potential benefits need to be weighed against the practical risks of supplementation.

I also wouldn't view bicarbonate as a substitute for the fundamentals of endurance performance.

Training consistency, adequate carbohydrate availability, hydration, recovery, and appropriate pacing still matter far more than trying to gain a small acute advantage from a buffering agent.

The Biggest Limitations of This Study

The sample size was relatively small. Twenty-four well-trained cyclists participated, including nine women. That's useful for a controlled crossover study, but it limits how confidently we can generalize the findings.

The study examined acute performance only. It didn't evaluate whether repeated bicarbonate use improves long-term adaptations.

The researchers tested one dose and timing strategy. They used approximately 0.26 g/kg two hours before exercise, so the findings don't establish an optimal dose or ingestion time.

The delivery system was specific. Participants used bicarbonate minitablets in a carbohydrate hydrogel. Results may differ with other formulations.

The exercise protocol was performed in a laboratory. Real-world races involve different pacing, environmental conditions, nutritional demands, and tactical decisions.

The researchers didn't measure intramuscular pH. The blood measurements support the proposed mechanism, but they don't directly demonstrate how buffering changed inside the working muscles.

Body mass was slightly higher in the bicarbonate condition. The researchers reported an average difference of approximately 0.4 kg, potentially reflecting fluid shifts. That creates another possible physiological influence on performance.

One additional detail is worth mentioning.

Maurten supplied the sodium bicarbonate and placebo products used in the study. The authors reported no funding and declared no conflicts of interest.

That disclosure doesn't invalidate the findings, but it is relevant context.

The Bottom Line

This study provides evidence that sodium bicarbonate can improve certain aspects of acute high-intensity cycling performance in well-trained athletes.

Across five demanding interval sets, cyclists produced approximately 2% more power after bicarbonate supplementation.

They also spent more time above 90% of VO₂max and produced approximately 2% more power during repeated maximal sprints.

The benefits were most noticeable during later efforts, when fatigue had accumulated.

The physiological findings also support the proposed buffering mechanism, with higher blood bicarbonate, pH, and lactate concentrations.

At the same time, bicarbonate did not improve cycling economy or fractional utilization of VO₂max.

And the study didn't determine whether using bicarbonate during training produces greater long-term aerobic adaptations.

My takeaway is that sodium bicarbonate deserves consideration as an evidence-based performance aid for repeated high-intensity efforts, particularly in trained athletes.

But I wouldn't assume that it improves every type of endurance exercise, and I certainly wouldn't recommend experimenting with large amounts of ordinary baking soda immediately before an important race.

The performance benefits are interesting. The practical details matter just as much.

References

Feuerbacher JF, Bjerkeset M, Mølmen KS, Schumann M, Rønnestad BR. Sodium Bicarbonate Supplementation Enhances Repeated High-Intensity Interval Training Performance and Time Above 90% of VO₂max in Well-Trained Cyclists. European Journal of Sport Science. 2026;26:e70253. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsc.70253