You flipped the tub over to read the label, and it told you almost nothing useful. A "proprietary blend" of 12 ingredients at one combined number, a few names you half-recognised, and a dosage line that conveniently hid how much of anything was actually in there. For a cyclist who races, and who might get tested, that label is not just unhelpful. It is a risk you cannot assess. Learning to read a pre-activity label properly is one of the most practical skills an endurance athlete can build.
The supplement aisle runs on vagueness, because vagueness sells. A long ingredient list looks impressive, a proprietary blend hides the fact that the active doses are tiny, and a wall of claims distracts from what matters. Once you know what to look for, the good products separate from the noise fast.
What are the red flags on a pre-activity label?
A handful of patterns reliably mark a product you should put back on the shelf.
- Proprietary blends. If a label lists several ingredients under one combined weight, you cannot know how much of each you are getting. This is the oldest trick in the category: it hides under-dosing behind a single big-sounding number.
- Label candy. A long list of trendy ingredients present in doses far below what any study used. They exist to look good on the panel, not to do anything in your body.
- Stimulant stacks. Multiple stimulants piled together for a bigger jolt, often the part of the formula least suited to a multi-hour ride and most likely to backfire.
- No third-party testing. For any cyclist subject to anti-doping rules, an untested supplement is a genuine hazard. Contamination is a real and documented problem in this industry.
The guide on ingredients to look for and avoid in a pre-activity supplement walks through the full checklist. The shortcut version: transparency is the first filter, and anything that hides its doses fails it.
What should a clean label look like instead?
Flip the red flags and you get the marks of a serious product. Every active ingredient listed with its individual dose, in amounts that match what the research actually used. No proprietary blends. A short, deliberate formula rather than a kitchen-sink list, because a well-chosen few at effective doses beats a dozen at trace amounts.
For competitive cyclists, one more line matters more than any other: independent testing for banned substances. A clean label is not only about knowing what is in the product. It is about trusting that what is on the label is all that is in the bottle. The difference between a transparent, dose-honest, tested formula and a proprietary-blend mystery tub is the difference between a tool you can build a race around and a gamble you cannot.
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Why does dose transparency matter for performance, not just safety?
Beyond the doping risk, doses decide whether a product works at all. An ingredient with strong evidence at, say, a specific dose does nothing meaningful at a tenth of it, no matter how good it looks on the panel. Proprietary blends exist precisely so brands can name an evidence-backed compound while delivering a sub-effective amount of it.
This is why an honest label is also a performance tool. When you can see the exact dose of each active ingredient, you can check it against what the research actually used and judge whether the product will do something on the road or just on the marketing. A formula that lists its doses is a formula confident they hold up. For a deeper look at how an evidence-led formula is constructed, see the breakdown of every ingredient in the OLEUS Pre-Activity Shot.
How the Pre-Activity Shot is built to pass the label test
The Pre-Activity Shot was designed to clear exactly the checklist above. No proprietary blend, a deliberate formula rather than a kitchen-sink list, and doses you can read and verify against the research.
At its centre is oleuropein, an olive-leaf polyphenol with documented mitochondrial mechanisms; research on oleuropein-based olive leaf extract has shown it can enhance the muscle mitochondrial bioenergetic response to moderate-intensity exercise in humans, the steady aerobic effort a long ride lives in. For cyclists who race under anti-doping rules, OLEUS products are tested regularly for banned substances as part of a commitment to clean sport. A label you can trust, doses you can verify, and a tested bottle: that is what belongs in your bidon bag.
A label you can actually trust
The Pre-Activity Shot lists its doses, skips the proprietary blends, and is tested for banned substances. Read it, verify it, race on it.
Shop the Pre-Activity Shot-
Sources
Lanfranchi, C., et al. (2026). Oleuropein-based olive leaf extract enhances muscle mitochondrial bioenergetics response to moderate but not maximal intensity exercise in humans. Journal of Physiology.
Powers, S.K., Radak, Z., Ji, L.L. (2016). Exercise-induced oxidative stress: past, present and future. Journal of Physiology, 594(18), 5081-5092.
This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
