Foldable Bikes Party: How to become a hill climbing star

Wednesday, 21 September 2016

How to become a hill climbing star

http://ift.tt/2cujeLI

Hills are an inevitable part of cycling, whatever type of riding you do. Races are often won on the climbs, so being a good hill climber is essential whether you're racing against other riders or the clock. You can dramatically improve your climbing by doing the right training and improving your technique.

How to train for shorter climbs

1. Do some hill repeats

Find a hill that isn't too steep and split it into three distinct phases. The ideal is one that starts reasonably steep, say 8-10%, and then in the middle third flattens slightly and then in the final third rears up to its steepest, say 10-12%. The length of the climb should be about two to three minutes.

Start with eight hill repeats and have a landmark at the bottom of the hill to start your computer and another at the top to stop your computer. Sprint at the start of the hill, sit down and change down on the flatter part, and then have an all-out sprint out of the saddle to the top.

Recover from the effort until you can breathe normally again and repeat. Try to get all eight repeats out at the same time. If you fade badly, stop the exercise, warm down and try again the next week. Record the times for each climb and make a note of the weather and wind direction, so you can compare sessions.

2. Change your pace

On longer hills that are reasonably steep, practise change of pace exercises. Start the hill at a moderate pace and then pick out a landmark about 250 metres ahead and sprint for it out of the saddle as hard as you can. Go back to a moderate pace and repeat as many times on each hill as the distance will allow.

3. Practise brow sprints

5 technique tips for longer climbs

1. Sit down

2. Relax

3. Keep a steady cadence

4. Pace, don’t race

5. Position perfectly in a group

Enter a hill climb competition

You can read more at BikeRadar.com

via BikeRadar All the latest from BikeRadar.com http://ift.tt/1T4z5h4

Foldable Bikes Party