Went vegan two years ago and the first six months on the bike were rough. Energy crashed, recovery slow, kept underfueling because I was scared of carbs. Took me a year of tinkering to land on a system that actually works.
Sharing the framework that helped me:
Training day calorie target: bodyweight (kg) x 35-45 depending on volume Carbs: 7-10g per kg bodyweight on hard days. Yes that high. Protein: 1.6-2g per kg, spread across 4 meals Pre-ride (90 min before): oats + banana + maple, ~80g carbs On-bike (per hour over 90 min): 60-90g carbs (medjool dates + rice cakes work great) Post-ride within 30 min: 4:1 carb:protein, my go-to is a smoothie with banana + soy milk + oats + pea protein + frozen berries
The trick was Sunday meal prep so I'm never hungry and reaching for crap. Cook once, fuel a whole week.
If anyone wants the full plan, recipes, and shopping lists I put it all in an ebook for £17. Otherwise happy to answer questions in comments.