2. STUDY DESIGN (Protocol) After the assessment of aerobic capacity (step-wise exercise cycling test to exhaustion) and familiarization testing, subjects will be randomized in a double-blind fashion to the treatment order of a bolus ingestion of nitrate (beetroot juice) and placebo (nitrate-depleted beetroot juice). For the two experimental trials, subjects will report to the laboratory at 8.00 h for the insertion of the blood catheter into an antecubital vein. Subjects will then be asked to consume 140 mL of either concentrated beetroot juice nitrate or concentrated nitrate-depleted beetroot juice (placebo). Following the consumption of the beverage, subjects will be given a standardized breakfast and will then rest in the lab for 2.5 h before being weighed and fitted with a heart-rate monitor for the commencement of the time-trial (3 h post ingestion of treatment beverage). Blood samples will be drawn at time 0 min (before beverage ingestion), 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180 min (start of time-trial). Two more blood samples will be drawn immediately post and 30 minutes post time-trial (Figure 1). Sampling will occur every 30 minutes based on previous research examining blood metabolites following meal ingestion or an oral glucose load (van Dijk, Manders et al. 2011) and nitrate/nitrite concentrations (Webb, Patel et al. 2008). The last two blood samples will occur immediately following the time-trial and 30 min into the recovery period to assess any changes in metabolites and nitrate/nitrite concentrations from the exercise and during the short-term recovery period.