

by Lars Hundley
How obtained: Cold, hard cash.
Where to find it: https://vespapower.com/ and on Amazon
In a recent newsletter in which we answered a Ask the Coach reader question about bonking, reader Rob T left a comment about a product called Vespa CV-25 that is supposedly designed to help prevent bonking by encouraging your body to burn fat rather than sugar.
If you’ve ever tried a low carb approach to cycling, you probably know that it can take quite a bit of time and effort to adapt to riding this way. I usually ride very early in the morning, before 6 a.m., so I typically do all of my rides under 40 to 45 miles fasted. I always carry an energy bar just in case, but almost never use it.
If I know a ride is going to be particularly fast and might make me bonk, I’ll bring a bottle filled with 3 scoops of my favorite energy drink, Spiz, which I discovered from this very web site more than 10 years ago when I was just a reader and newsletter subscriber. Trying to ride at a hard, above threshold pace for more than an hour fasted is a fool’s errand, in my opinion.
But if it isn’t a hard ride, I believe that riding in a fasted state helps me consume fewer calories over the day and keep my weight in check, and also helps me keep my blood sugar stable (which I have actually measured, using a Levels continuous glucose monitor).
Since I am already well adapted to riding this way, I was curious if consuming Vespa would make any real difference for me. I purchased the four pouch sample pack and used it on four different rides over the course of a month or so.
Maybe it was just the placebo effect, but I felt better toward the end of my rides and less hungry when I was finished after consuming a pouch. In particular, I went on one gravel ride that wasn’t quite 40 miles, but lasted almost three hours and had a higher average wattage than a typical road ride. I made it to the end of the ride and didn’t feel it necessary to eat the energy bar that I was carrying as a backup, just in case.
The downsides to Vespa are that each pouch is pretty expensive, and it tastes terrible. I can tolerate things that taste bad if they think they will help my performance, so it was not an issue for me. I would squeeze the whole pouch into my mouth as fast as I could swallow it to get it over with. It did not upset my stomach in any way.
On the Vespa site, they argue that if you consider how much you’re saving by not consuming as many energy bars or gels while you are using the product, you end up saving money or breaking even. I think that’s a reasonable argument. But additionally, I like the idea of consuming something that doesn’t add a lot of empty sugar calories to my diet (which is also terrible for my teeth, by the way) but allows me to still ride well on a ride where I’d otherwise need to consume an energy bar or drink.
Vespa claims to have a lot of science behind their product, and there’s a big list of successful ultra endurance athletes who use it featured on their site in articles and video interviews. I ended up on their email list after I made a purchase and I’ve found the emails to be informative and worth reading, and not just the typical promotional emails you often get from many companies.
If you can handle the weird / unpleasant taste and you’re interested in a product that doesn’t have any sugar or significant calories that allows you to ride longer, I think it’s worth trying to see if it works for you.
I will be 64 years old this December. Three years ago I was 329lbs and now 198lbs. My first two yrs I made no real diet changes and after reaching 270 in Jan 2022 I made changes. OFM and Vespa was part of it. I am at 9000 miles this year so far. Just completed my 1st double metric in 8 hrs. 3 packs of Vespa and 2 cups of watermelon with energy to spare. No bonks, no cramps.
Any peer-reviewed, double-blind studies demonstrating the company and product’s claims are indeed reproducible and viable across a large cross-section of athletes or the general population?
There was a double blind, placebo controlled study started in late 2019 at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, California with Dr. Derek Marks PhD as the PI. Unfortunately, they were in the middle of data collection in the winter/spring of 2020 when “you know what” happened. The plan is to launch a refined study winter / spring of 2023.
We have data collected earlier this year that shows humans are capable of sustaining over 2 grams per minute of fat oxidation when properly trained. Using VESPA as one key tool is part of this. Many cyclists from the Pro’s to regular folks have seen success using Vespa . . . real world results, at the end of the day also matter and people seem to have forgotten this. Thankfully, the reviewer writing here about their experience, recognizes this.
https://vespapower.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/VESPA-SWACSM-POSTER-2019-1.pdf
Lars,, I suggest you try the smaller packet concentrates. I think you’ll like the taste a little better.
Yes, Lars, go ahead and email me and we can throw some samples of the UC in with your order of CV-25 .
Romain Bardet
Jul 20, 2016, 11:20 AM
to Johnathan, me
Hello
I just wanna thank you guys for the work we’ve done together for my health and the heat acclimatation .
For now it works very well
We ll have time to get some feedback later but I’m feeling really good. 4 days to go!
Best
Romain BARDET.