About WCUP
WCUP Sports Nutrition is a Belgian brand of scientifically focused sports nutrition products for use before, during, and after training or competition. Since its launch in 1994, WCUP has become an established product for national and international athletes of different levels.
Our mission
Our mission has remained unchanged since our inception: developing products that make a difference and are adapted to the basic nutritional needs of the athlete, both in terms of preparation, performance, and recovery- with the ultimate goal of improving sports performance.
In addition, we give the athlete the guarantee that all WCUP products are free of prohibited substances and can be used without any risk of positive doping tests.
In the beginning…
The basic idea for the first WCUP product lies in a common problem among athletes, namely muscle acidification. If you perform strenuous efforts, the body makes a lot of lactic acid. The accumulation of this in the muscle tissues is the cause of muscle acidification. Our body has its own deacidification system, but this takes about 72 hours. Athletes usually do not have that much patience, or time during competition. Insufficient rest also leads to chronic acidification, so that you get muscle injuries more quickly, get tired faster, recuperation slows down, and performance decreases.
WCUP Sports Drink was developed with extra attention paid to the acidity. Most sports drinks contain citric acid to prolong shelf life and improve taste. With the science of muscle acidification, however, it is not logical that athletes drink acidic drinks during and after the effort. These extra acids provide an extra burden on the deacidification system of the body. Moreover, most athletes experience stomach pain. WCUP sports drink has a neutral acidity (pH 7.2). There are also additional substances to neutralize existing acids, which makes it also very tolerable under effort.
José De Cauwer had the drink in 1994 as the first rider to use it in the Tour de France. The reactions were very positive: the heavy feeling was indeed out of the legs, but it was barely drinkable. We have since worked very hard to improve the taste.
WCUP subsequently experienced enormous growth and expansion of the range. We currently carry 14 different products consisting of thirst quenchers, energy bars, energy gels, and recuperation drinks.
Since 2003 our offices have been located in Beringen, (Flanders) Belgium. In 2017, we started a US office located in Southern California as well as an office in Brazil.
Partners
Athletes of all levels rely on WCUP for training, competition, and recuperation. In addition, we enjoy a not insignificant support from the sports world through a number of active partnerships with both sports federations and individual athletes.
These close partnerships provide us with a better understanding of how the right food can improve sports performance, and helps us to develop WCUP products that better meet the needs of the athlete.
All our partners can be found on the WCUP Family page.