Effect of a carbohydrate mouth rinse on maximal sprint performance in competitive male cyclists

There is evidence that rinsing the mouth with a carbohydrate (CHO) solution can improve endurance performance. The goal of this study was to investigate whether a CHO mouth rinse can improve the performance of a maximal sprint effort. Fourteen competitive male cyclists (64.0 ± 5.6 mL kg−1 min−1 (mean ± SD)) each completed the following 5-s mouth rinse trials in a randomised counter-balanced order; (a) 6.4% maltodextrin solution [Mal], (b) 7.1% glucose solution [Glu], (c) water [Wa] and (d) a control trial with no rinse [Con]. Each participant then performed a 30-s maximal sprint effort on a cycle ergometer. Glu, Mal and Wa trials were not significantly different from Con across all indicators of sprint performance (maximal power output, mean power output over 0-30, 0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 s), nausea or fatigue level (p > 0.05). These findings suggest that the use of a 5-s mouth rinse with an isoenergetic amount of either maltodextrin or glucose is not beneficial for maximal sprint performance.