Effect snapshot
Intervention Take ~3–6 mg/kg caffeine 60 minutes pre-race
Outcome Time trial completion time
Effect 2–4 percent relative decrease
Confidence meta_analysis
Context Cycling and running time trials, trained amateurs, WADA-legal dosing

Sources

What changes

Caffeine dosing is commonly associated with a 2–4% relative improvement in endurance time-trial performance in meta-analyses.

When this tends to work

  • Conditions similar to: Cycling and running time trials, trained amateurs, WADA-legal dosing
  • You can measure Time trial completion time reliably
  • The intervention is implemented consistently, not half-measured

When to be careful

  • Your audience or product differs materially from the cited context
  • Compliance costs or second-order effects outweigh the lift
  • Evidence label is meta_analysis—treat wide ranges as planning bands, not promises

Practical takeaway

Use the cited range for prioritization and test design. Verify against your own data before scaling.