CW has some good pieces this week and Michael Hutchinson writes the climbing hills effectively is not just about honking yourself to the top...
His Golden rules are
Quote:
1. Use all the gears you have - that's what they are there for
2. Sitting down is more efficient
3. Experiment with differennt cadences - fast cadence means a faster climb
4. TRAIN for the hills. It will make you faster on the flats as well
5. In a TT - remember you have to be fast on descents and flats as well.
6. In a bunch - start at the front - it buys you more time
As he says - there is a certain satisfaction in climbing an Alpine monster and the thrill of the descent...
Idf with a group - stick with them - keep up with them.. I note when I ride with my local club or even with the Swiss mob - they ease up over the top of the hill to get a rest. If you are wiht a group and you drop off - you end up struggling to catch. (Wildy has this problem
)
Mike Hutchinson mentions a COAST skil
Quote:
On road race climbs you have to be aware of what's around you - tio's easy to get caught pour climbing comfortably in front of the rider immediately in front of you - only to find a big gap has opened in front of him and if you'd only overtaken him ...
Sound familiar
.. in your car ..
A certain chap who lives in the Lakes ... certain Mad Doc .. did this to me ,,, in a race we gotr talked into couple of years back.... Grrrrr.. I'd have won.... but for that....
Quote:
Similarly you can get boxed in by other riders and have to drop further back. Make sure you give yourself some space
See -... COAST .. told ya!
Hutchinson debates how hard we should ride up hill - you need the stamina to ride up quickly and Hutchinson advises us to put in the effort where we get the most return. He advises not going above your threshold as this will reduce your powere for the rest of the ride... making you slow on the descents. So .. he advocates a relaxed pace, controlled with an acceleration over the top and in a race situation - he makes up the time over the descents and flats.
He could be describing a journey in a car behind a lorry across the A66 to the Mad Cats here He also says that for safety's sake -
you plan your journey or race beforehand and if a race - drive over it and even ride it beforehand He also advises finally that training is the key ..
Quote:
you cannot ride hills without training.. try different cadences and do what works for you and not Ullrich and Armstrong.
I see some parallels: motor racing techniques spill over into normal driving - and practices adopted by our racing stars - ciommuter cyclists can also learn from their expertise.
So - to our cyclists on board .... your tips for riding on the ups .... and what do you eat to keep up the stamina?
By the way ... speed matters - epecially a safe speed!!