Sponser Red Power Gums

For cyclists needing to eat during long races or other endurance events, energy food usually means a gel or a bar. These Sponser Red Power Gums fall into a different bracket that can only be described as chewy sweets. They're tasty, easy to eat and deliver a good supply of carbohydrate for energy - plus a dash of caffeine for an extra little boost.

Red Power Gums are one of many energy products from Swiss manufacturer Sponser Sport Food. Each packet contains 10 gums, with a total weight of 75g. The total carbohydrate content is 58g, which is a high ratio and ideal if all you want is carbs.

The main ingredients include glucose syrup, sucrose and gelatine. Also in the mix is caffeine – a total of 150mg in the packet of 10 - plus some B-group vitamins, which according to the Sponser website 'are involved in the metabolic processes of the energy production'. There's also taurine and glucuronolactone, which 'serve as antioxidants and intercept free radicals'.

I have tested these gums on some long training rides and a couple of 100-mile sportives and found them very useful for that last hour or so when legs start to get tired and hills seem to get steeper. I've generally stuffed in about five gums at once, and felt the benefit almost immediately - which could be psychological, but if it does the job, that's good enough for me.

The Sponser website also suggests the gums are good for eating before a race, as well as for topping-up at any point during an event between eating other food.

Red Power Gums are available in only one flavour, called 'red fruit'. The taste and texture is pretty much like a normal wine gum. It's tasty, but a bit on the sticky side, so you definitely need to drink afterwards to take the stickiness away.

There's only one downside with these gums: they're tricky to eat on the move. Getting the packet out of your jersey back pocket and then getting a couple of individual gums into your mouth requires the use of both hands. This means riding no-handed (not always possible or advisable in crosswinds or a group situation) or simply stopping. If you can cope with that, then I'd recommend these gums as a very handy addition to your normal selection of energy foods.

When it comes to price, a single packet of Sponser Red Power Gums is £2. This is not cheap, although on a crude carbs-per-quid and carbs-per-packet basis, it's on a par with similar products such as ZipVit Energy Chews (46g of carb in a 60g pack) and Clif Bar Shot Bloks (48g of carb in a 60g tube) which both also go for about two quid. You can reduce the costs slightly by buying in bulk: on the Sponser Uk website a box of 20 packets of Red Power Gums is £38.

Verdict

Tasty and effective - a welcome change to the usual choices - although not cheap and hard to eat on the move.