This is a difficult thing to just say "I do this and here is what I did". People's body's can be very different. For example, pro cyclists burn fat and carbs differently than normal people do to years of conditioning( aka base miles). That high fat diet only works for super intense athletes. Try and let me know how your cholesterol levels end up. Haha

Food prior to very long endurance Activites is good to stop the gastrointestinal events during the event. So I do agree with the benefits there however gels unlike solid food better absorb and replenish carbohydrate stores so you can maintain higher/intense efforts for longer. Otherwise you could "bonk". But yeah... It all depends on the activity, duration, intensity , pre-training and food consption etc...

I race/ride bikes as well. So 250-300mi or 15hr each week on the bike( more if I didn't have a day job).