When
cycling you will invariably encounter a hill, or mountain, that
must be ascended. If you are a racing cyclist, you will know
this is often where races are won and lost.
For some the experience of riding up a hill will be one of elation
but for most, the pain of climbing has been enough to see the
bike sent to the darkest recesses of the shed or garage and
the reintroduction of tiddly-winks to the daily activities.
The simplest way of improving your hill climbing is to incorporate
hills in all or most of your rides. Avoiding hills will not
improve your ability to climb them.
The experience of climbing hills shouldn't defeat anyone because
through the use of proper technique, even the mountain pass
will become a challenge rather than a dread.
If you decide to include hills in your training rides there
are several variables to be considered when climbing
Gear
Shifting
Do
not down shift too soon as this will lose you valuable momentum.
When this happens you end up having to work harder to regain
your lost momentum and this puts your legs under unnecessary
strain right from the outset.
Conversely, do not shift too late as this also will result in
a waste of energy by pushing too large a gear.
The idea with gearing and shifting is to maintain a "comfortable
cadence", shifting when you become uncomfortable and your rate
of pedalling drops, but before you bog down and have to horse
the gear.
Some top cyclists recommend a cadence of around 80 RPM and shifting
up to a higher gear as you near the top. However others prefer
climbing at a lower cadence, noting that the higher the cadence
the more oxygen you will consume.
This
was backed up by an article in "Medicine and Science in Sports
and Exercise" that found that "maximum sustainable power to
be greater at 60 RPM than at 100 RPM, and blood lactate responses
to be greater at the higher RPMs".
Standing
and sitting
The
second variable to climbing involves the decision to climb out
of the saddle or in it and the positioning of your body for
both of these techniques.
A simple rule to start with is that if the hill is long, climb
in the saddle. If the hill is short, stand up. Often it becomes
a matter of preference as well as what you as an individual
feel more efficient at. I once saw Veronque climb a mountain
in the Tour de France standing up all the way.
A specific note here is that even if the hill is a long one,
standing occasionally is recommended as this stretches your
back, increases your momentum and shifts the strain from certain
muscle groups allowing them to rest for a short while before
continuing the climb in the saddle. Often whilst training on
long hills I will alternate 20 pedal strokes seated, then 20
standing up and so on.
Climbing
techniques in the saddle.
For the small framed cyclist, sliding back on your saddle helps
you generate more force through the top of your pedal stroke,
also throughout the down stroke and when pulling up on the pedal.
Your hands can be either on the top of your brake hoods, or
the top of your handlebars but keep them relaxed and periodically
change their position.
Your upper body should not be crunched up and your shoulders
should be open to allow your lungs and diaphragm to open easily
and therefore aid breathing. A relaxed upper body is beneficial
as any muscle tension increases your oxygen and caloric demands.
If
you are a tall cyclist you will benefit from sliding to the
front of your saddle, therefore positioning your hips more over
the cranks. This gives you more leverage.
In general, climbing in the saddle requires less energy, uses
less oxygen and is done at lower heart rates. However there
are times when you have to stand, what we refer to as "honking".
Climbing
techniques out of the saddle.
The need to get out of the saddle usually happens when the gradient
of the hill you are climbing increases, or if muscles fatigue,
the climb is short (often referred to as sprinters hills), or
an increase in power is needed to crest the hill or drop a fellow
rider.
Getting out of the saddle should be done on the down stroke.
This minimizes the loss of momentum. You can usually shift to
a larger gear before standing.
Your weight should be over your cranks to maximize power during
the pedal stroke. This means that you should not lean too far
forward or place too much of your bodyweight on the handlebars.
Infact keep a relaxed hold on the bars with your hands on the
brake hoods.
As above keep your shoulders and torso open to allow for easier
breathing.
Bouncing on your pedals is not advisable. Think of running on
the pedals and establish a smooth rhythm concentrating on pedalling
in circles.
Finally
with both forms of climbing, breathing rate will naturally increase
and establishing a breathing rhythm will help this increased
demand for oxygen. You must fight against the fact that often
when an increase in intensity is called for a person will more
likely hold their breath. Work on maintaining a rhythm with
your focus on breathing out to rid the body of CO2 and relax
on the inspiration. You'll be pleased to know that if you relax,
your body will create it's own breathing rhythm.
