Carbohydrate plays a critical role in fueling our muscles. Instead of the typical multi-day carbohydrate (CHO) loading approach, try this Rapid Carbohydrate Loading Protocol developed by Australian researchers. Toward the end of your workout the day prior to a long event include a 2.5-min interval effort at ~110 percent* of CP6 followed by a 30-second all-out "sprint" (you won't have much left). If you don’t own a power meter, use RPE to judge the intensity which you think you could otherwise hold for six-minutes. Cool down properly but start taking in high glycemic CHO within 20 minutes. In fact, I like to take a bottle of energy drink on the bike so I can start CHO loading immediately after the effort. Consume 4-5g of CHO per pound of total body weight over the next 24 hours. I suggest you stop taking in high glycemic CHO beginning 3 hours before the event (or any food, for that matter). Once the event begins, you can begin consuming high glycemic CHO again because exercise mitigates the body's insulin response.

This plan has been shown to be more effective in achieving high rates of glycogen than the traditional 3-5 day "carbo-loading" programs (~200 mmol/kg vs. ~140 mmol/kg) that can leave one feeling heavy and bloated.

Note: The actual study this is based on used 130% of V02max pace (for which CP6 is a proxy) but frankly I find it difficult to achieve. I do them at 110 percent of CP6 and have had very good results.