Pickle juice for cramps while cycling

Few things are as incapacitating on the bike as the cramps that appear especially during marathon days and hot days. Pickle juice seems to have become an effective remedy to make them disappear when they threaten to block our legs, a product used not only by professionals but also by first division football teams.

The magic formula to stop cramps

Few things are as disabling on a bike as cramps at the end of a long, hard day on the bike, especially if it's been a hot day. Almost any cyclist has suffered from them at some point, especially in those very hard rides that populate the calendar and that sometimes require us to squeeze the most out of our capabilities.

Worst of all, when the cramps appear, they are usually sudden, so the muscle is contracted and we have no choice but to stop and stretch until we can regain mobility, albeit in a limited way. Something that can ruin our aspirations in some of these tests.

That is exactly what almost happened to Tadej Pogacar when he was riding solo to victory and, a few kilometres from the finish, he suffered this unfortunate problem and pulled his hands painfully to his legs. A few seconds later, however, his team car approached him and handed him a container of liquid, which he immediately sipped. Minutes later, Pogacar faced the final ascent to Bergamo's Città Alta as if nothing had happened, maintaining the gap to the chasing group, something almost unthinkable as anyone who has suffered from cramps will know.

The liquid in question appeared to be the liquid in which pickled gherkins are preserved and which is marketed by the No-Cramp brand as a remedy for cramps. According to the brand's research, it is effective against cramps by preventing the reflex impulse that supposedly causes involuntary muscle contraction as the sour taste sends a signal to the brain that makes the cramps go away.

A remedy made from apple cider vinegar that also includes salts that help to restore the balance of electrolytes that are usually associated with the appearance of cramps, such as sodium, potassium and zinc, as well as vitamin C and E, and which even first division football teams use.