The Effect of Butanediol Ingestion on Skeletal Muscle Angiogenesis in Hypoxia

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Written informed consent must be obtained prior to any experimental procedures 2. Biological male or biological females using oral contraception between 18 and 35 years old 3. Recreational or competitive cyclists performing regularly cycling training sessions with an average training volume of more than 6 hours per week 4. Good health status confirmed by a medical screening 5. Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18 and 25 kg/m2 Exclusion Criteria: 1. Any kind of injury/pathology that is a contra-indication for hypoxic exposure and/or to perform high-intensity exercise, evaluated by a sport medical screening 2. Intake of any medication or nutritional supplement that is known to affect exercise or performance. Intake will be assessed during recruitment and the sport medical screening. 3. Intake of analgesics, anti-inflammatory agents, or supplementary anti-oxidants, within two weeks of study participation. 4. Recent residence or training under hypoxia; more than 7 days exposure to altitude \> 1500 m during the 3 months preceding the study. 5. Blood donation within 3 months of study participation. 6. Habitual smoking 7. Pre-existing, diagnosed psychiatric conditions or anxiety 8. Females that are pregnant or are planning to be pregnant before the end of the study (end of May 2024) 9. Depression or anxiety as assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory 25 (Appendix 2) and Beck Anxiety Inventory 26 (Appendix 3). Only a score in the range of 'normal ups and downs' (score 1-10) for depression or 'minimal anxiety' (score 0-7) for anxiety are tolerated. 10. History of addiction or excessive caffeine/alcohol consumption assessed by a questionnaire (Appendix 4). 11. Any other reason that might pose undue risk to the participant, or introduce bias into the study outcomes, at the discretion of the research team.