The first lactate gels are on sale: they cost 5 euros and can only be purchased two per person

Just a few days ago, lactate burst into the cycling news after it was revealed that UAE Team Emirates-XRG was using this nutritional strategy during the Tour de France. First came the suspicions, then the official confirmation from Enervit that the team was working with products that incorporate lactate, and later, the explanations from UAE's nutritionist about the role this compound plays alongside carbohydrates during maximum intensity efforts. Now anyone can try them.

The lactate gel is no longer exclusive to the elite: it is now on sale for 5 euros

But this technology seems to have developed in parallel from different brands and is no longer exclusive to professional teams. The Spanish brand Santamadre has launched LACTATE 60, the first lactate gel available to the public and which, at least at its launch, comes as a limited edition. Each unit costs 5 euros and the company only allows the purchase of two gels per person, an unusual measure that reflects the limited nature of the launch.

40 grams of carbohydrates and 60 mmol of lactate

Far from presenting it as a substitute for traditional gels, Santamadre explains that their proposal aims to complement the usual carbohydrate-based strategy. Each gel provides 40 grams of carbohydrates in a 1:1 ratio of glucose and fructose along with 60 millimoles of lactate.

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According to the brand, the key is that both compounds use different absorption pathways. While glucose and fructose use their usual transporters, lactate uses MCT transporters, which would allow for an additional metabolic source within the same nutritional strategy.

The company also points out that, once absorbed, lactate can not only be used as fuel but also acts as a metabolic signal associated with intense exercise, promoting the activation of different mechanisms related to performance. The product has an estimated activation time of between 7 and 10 minutes.

A strategy that is starting to leave the elite

The launch comes at a time when interest in lactate has notably increased within endurance sports. For decades, the evolution of sports nutrition had focused almost exclusively on increasing the amount of carbohydrates that athletes could ingest per hour. Now, both researchers and some professional teams are exploring the possibility of combining those carbohydrates with other molecules that can play a complementary role.

The nutrition used alongside Yomif Kejelcha to break the 2-hour barrier in the marathon

Santamadre explains that the development of LACTATE 60 is the result of months of research and testing with high-level athletes. Among them is Yomif Kejelcha, an athlete sponsored by the Spanish brand, whose nutritional strategy served as the basis during his historic performance at the London Marathon 2026, where he became the first debutant to break the two-hour mark.

Although the brand presents the product as a step forward in sports nutrition, for now, the launch has been made in a limited edition and with very limited availability, to the point of restricting the purchase to only two units per customer.