Ozempic in cycling, does it help or harm performance?

Reducing weight has always been one of the great obsessions of cyclists as it is the most efficient way to improve our level by improving the dreaded watts/kilo ratio. Something that for some people can be a real problem due to their constitution and metabolism, so they try to find shortcuts through medications like Ozempic.

What is Ozempic and why has it revolutionized rapid weight loss?

Ozempic is a medication indicated for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, however, in recent times it has been used by several Hollywood actresses and influencers to lose weight quickly. The snowball effect has caused some supply problems to the point that in Spain a medical prescription is required for its acquisition.

Ozempic is a drug classified as a GLP-1 receptor agonist, used to control blood sugar levels in diabetes patients. However, this same ability to stabilize blood glucose levels makes it a very useful tool for weight control, with weight losses of around 15% recorded in clinical trials.

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This medication comes in the form of preloaded injections that are administered easily. In addition to controlling blood sugar, Ozempic mimics the functioning of the peptide-1 hormone produced in the intestines naturally, which is responsible for transmitting the feeling of being full to the body and also slows down stomach emptying, preventing hunger.

A capacity to control weight that, in a world where obesity is becoming a real public health problem, makes medications of this kind a real cash cow for pharmaceutical companies.

Benefits and risks of Ozempic in athletes

With the promises of using Ozempic to control weight, it was inevitable that its use would also reach sports, especially endurance sports like cycling where weight is an essential aspect of performance. Additionally, studies conducted with Ozempic have revealed that it can also produce a slight increase in maximum oxygen consumption.

First of all, it is worth mentioning that a quick check on the NoDopWeb application of the Spanish Commission for the Fight against Doping in Sport shows that its use is allowed. Of course, health authorities advise against any use other than the treatment of diabetes for which it is indicated. In fact, in the U.S., its use for weight loss is not even authorized, which is why it has become popular.

However, among the side effects caused by Ozempic, associated with appetite reduction, there is also a sensation of severe fatigue, so while we may gain by losing those extra pounds, we may not be able to properly follow our training plan.

Furthermore, in sports like cycling, the appetite reduction caused by Ozempic can make us forget to eat during our training or competitions, making us an easy target for hitting the wall, and the effect of slowing gastric emptying can prevent what we consume on the bike from being absorbed quickly enough to maintain the energy reserves we need to perform properly on the bike.

We must also not overlook the loss of muscle mass that is usually associated with rapid weight loss and that will force us to focus more on strength training, often overlooked by cyclists.

For all these reasons, although Ozempic promises to fine-tune us to the limit, it may not be such a good idea to take this shortcut if our goal is to achieve maximum performance. By the way, a curious fact, the pharmaceutical company responsible for producing Ozempic is Novo Nordisk, which, as many of you may know, has a professional cycling team made up of diabetic riders.