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Climbing to the Top
By John Phillips
Feb 16, 2006, 13:16
Climbing can be one of
the toughest yet most enjoyable aspects of cycling. The strain of getting to the
beautiful summit makes the view sweeter, and typically, the sweeter the view,
the more grueling the climb. Many cyclists, myself included, seek out these
great experiences as often as possible. Others avoid them like the plague
because they think they can’t climb well. There are many ways to improve your
climbing. Most important are a positive outlook and an enjoyment of climbing,
but there are also many climbing specific workouts, techniques and equipment you
can utilize to get better on the hills or mountains.
Improving your watts per
kilogram is the major goal. Since gravity is pulling down on your mass, you’ll
want to minimize your weight & maximize your sustainable power to go uphill
faster. Needless to say, all the workouts and gear won’t make you a super
climber if you’re lacking the desire. No matter how easy your favorite climbing
superstar makes it look on television, that athlete is really suffering to climb
as well. Though they know proper preparation and equipment are vital to their
climbing successes, their internal desire to ascend powerfully is probably the
most important fuel for the fire.
Technique
Let’s begin with simple
tactics to improve your climbing technique. These are basically free speed since
no hard work is necessary. Many riders don’t understand whether they’re faster
climbing seated or standing, and there’s not a definite yes or no. It is true
that you conserve more energy seated, yet standing is important when you want to
attack or accelerate since you can put much more force into the downstroke.
Generally speaking, bigger folks should spend more time seated than smaller
riders. When you stand you have to support your body weight in addition to
applying force to the pedals. Hence, more body weight means more energy used
when one stands. Yet, don’t let being big keep you in the saddle for all your
climbs. It is OK for anyone to stand on short steep sections. For longer climbs,
you’ll want to spend more time seated since you need to conserve more energy.
Optimal hand position is
another matter for debate. Should you climb in the drops, or on the brake hoods,
or on the bar tops? Again the answer varies depending on the terrain &
effort. Generally the hoods are the best place to be. You can easily stand for a
quick burst of power, yet it is comfortable enough for a long climb. The bar
tops also put you in a powerful & comfortable position. You just have to be
quick to get your hands to the hoods if you need to stand & accelerate. The
drops, believe it or not, can indeed be a good climbing position, but only in
the right situation. That situation is an attack or acceleration on a moderate
grade. Marco Pantani demonstrated the beauty of this position in his prime. If
you have to stand & attack or accelerate on a hill on your next group ride,
try it in the drops. Just like sprinting, it’s a powerful strong position. I
think it can be a very effective position if you’re going for your club ride KOM
points!
Climbing
Tactics
There are many tricks
for improving your tactics when hill climbing in a race or group ride. One of
the most common for weaker climbers is to start the hill at the front of the
group. Keep an effort that is not too far out of your comfort zone so that
you’ll slowly slide to the back of the pack at the summit of the hill without
blowing up. If your group ride is racing to the top of hills, then you’ll want
to position yourself near the front for the first third of the climb. There are
always those riders that hammer the pace early on a climb, but then blow up and
lose lots of time before they reach the summit. Some never learn, eh? Stay ahead
of them of just a few riders behind them and be ready to accelerate. Once those
early leaders begin to fade you’ll want to begin moving up. Others will be
trying to do the same so make sure to hold a good smooth line as you pass.
The final third of the
climb is where the cream rises to the top. Keep up your hard effort all the way
to the top. Don’t worry if someone latches to your wheel. The draft effect is
minimal so it will be hard for them to slingshot past you like on a flat sprint.
Here on the climb the leader is in the control position since it takes a huge
effort to be overtaken. Be ready to accelerate to the summit as you keep up the
pace. It’s much like what you see at a fireworks show. There are many sparks
down low, but you want to be the star that shines the highest. Another strategy
is to bolt from the group early. This is counter-intuitive to most racing logic.
It can work well if you’re a strong time trialist. By attacking very hard early
on the climb, you’re making a statement to the group that you are strong &
confident. You’re now in control turning the climb into a time trial which is
your strength. Once the gap is established settle into a steady effort all the
way to the top.
How can you climb better
if you are a larger built rider? Being larger is indeed a disadvantage since you
have more weight to lift against gravity, but it is still possible to go uphill
fast. There are some that say you need a weight to height ratio of 2lbs per inch
(357grams per centimeter) to climb at a world class level. I strongly disagree
as there are exceptions such as Miguel Indurain (2.36lbs per inch or 423 grams
per cm) that weigh 18% more than this recommendation! With proper training, you
can maximize your ability, regardless of your size. It takes time & much
patience, but you can indeed develop into a big strong climber.
Workouts
The key to improving
your climbing is to increase your maximum sustainable power output. You’re goal
is to be able to maintain a higher pace from the bottom of the climb to the top,
and that can be a 30-60 minute effort sometimes. The workouts that lead to the
kind of power increases you’re looking for consist of long intervals right below
your lactate threshold, which is your maximum sustainable pace or power output.
The idea is to gradually increase the length of these intervals, and then
increase the number you’re completing, so you accumulate more and more time at
this important intensity level.
So, how would this work?
After you have a good base of fitness from endurance rides and some interval
work on flat and rolling terrain, it’s time to hit the hills. Find a road where
it takes 8-15 minutes (or more) of sustained climbing to reach the top. During
your Preparation Period, or pre-competition period, you should incorporate two
or three days of ClimbingRepeat workouts into your weekly schedule. Start by
climbing at a pace that’s just below your time trial intensity for 8 minutes,
then resting for 15 minutes, and then repeating the interval two more times. As
you adapt, increase the interval times to 10 minutes and then 12 minutes, while
reducing the recovery times to 12 minutes and then 10 minutes.
If there are only short
climbs where you live, you’ll have to do more intervals instead of longer ones,
but remember that the main goal is to increase the total time spent at this
intensity each week. It’s good to focus on ClimbingRepeat work for 4-8 weeks,
taking a recovery week after the third or fourth week.
Equipment
Your choice of cycling
equipment is important to your climbing success. Just like time trialists have
specialized aero equipment and mountain bikers have suspension tuning options,
climbers can benefit greatly from the right equipment. The main goal is
obviously to lighten your bike to further maximize the watts you can produce per
kilogram you have to haul up the hill. However, gearing choices can be just as
important as lightweight parts.
It takes an incredibly
strong cyclist to climb well with an 11-23 rear cassette. The 11-23 works well
on flatter ground, but with that gearing on a hilly route you can be at a big
disadvantage. The 39 x 23 combination at 60 RPM gives you 12.8 km/h. If you know
that you’re climbing below that speed then you’ll need to modify your gearing.
At 60 RPM you’re using a great amount of muscular strength to get yourself up
the hill. This is fine for a strength building workout, but highly inefficient
if you’re aiming to get to the front of the group ride. A more optimal climbing
cadence would be 80 RPM or greater. The higher cadence minimizes muscular
fatigue. Start out with a 12-25 or 12-27 rear cassette. Even Lance rode a 12-25
all winter, so no shame in choosing such. If need further gearing for even
steeper and longer climbs, then you should consider a compact crankset. Shimano,
Campagnolo and FSA now offer compact models. They come with a 50-tooth big ring
and 34- or 36-tooth inner ring. The 34-tooth chainring with the 25 & 27 rear
cogs give you the ability to maintain a higher cadence on steeper climbs without
resorting to a triple chainring crankset. With the proper gearing installed you
can climb the long and steep hills much more efficiently. This increased
efficiency will go a long way to improving your climbing position in your club
peloton.
The latest rage in
wheelsets is to create the wheels that are extremely light while still sturdy
and stable enough for rough roads and fast descents. Some now weigh less than
1kg, for both wheels! Most climbing-specific wheelsets have a rim depth of 30mm
or less. There are a few very light wheel sets with rim depths of 50mm, but they
are closer to the ‘aerodynamic’ category and that’s for another article. There’s
a famous quote about bicycle components by Keith Bontrager: “Strong, light,
cheap. Pick two.” So unfortunately for the consumer of light wheels, there is no
low end of the price range. In the ‘middle’ of the price range ($1100 USD; €925)
is the Mavic ‘Ksyrium ES.’ This wheel set is an update of the proven Ksyrium SSC
design. The ES version saves a few more grams by going with a shallower &
lighter front rim as well as lighter hubs. It totals 1485 grams for the set.
Other great choices in this price & weight range include the Zipp ‘303,’
Shimano ‘WH-7800,' and Reynolds 'Stratus-DV.’ At the high end of the climbing
wheel set is the Lightweight ‘Ventoux.’ It’s constructed of a shallow carbon rim
with a kevlar/carbon spoking system that never needs truing. The hubs have
carbon bodies. It’s tough enough for riders up to 100kg. At 950 grams [the only UCI
approved wheelset below 1kg] and $5500 USD [€4575] its in a category all its
own.
You’ll notice the
greatest improvement with a lighter wheel set. After you’ve done that and are
looking for more weight savings, there are plenty of other ways to lighten your
ride. Cranksets, brake calipers, and seatposts are the areas where you can save
the most weight. A great source for these lightweight parts and builds is at
Weight Weenies [http://weightweenies.starbike.com] but also check out our
shopping section for places to shop. These parts will also lighten your wallet,
so spend wisely. Remember that improving your fitness and reducing your body
weight are the cheapest ways to maximize your watts per
kilogram!
Altitude
Altitude training is
quickly becoming an often talked-about training tool. It’s still not mentioned
or used as much as a power meter, but it can still be a great training tool. In
studies, researchers Dr. Ben Levine and Dr. Jim Stray-Gundersen, have shown that
altitude training improves performance by as much as 5% (Levine). Five percent
is quite a bit when it comes to climbing. For example in the 2004 Tour de
France, Lance Armstrong won the l’Alpe d’Huez uphill time trial in 39:41. Five
percent slower there was 2 minutes back; only good enough for 5th
place. Not everyone can climb like Lance so let’s say a strong cyclist can ride
l’Alpe d’Huez in 70 minutes. A 5% increase from that makes you 3:30 faster. It’s
hard not to be happy with that improvement. The increased red blood cell mass
from altitude training helps deliver more oxygen to your muscles. The thinner
the air, the more red blood cells you’ll need. If you’re going to climb the cols
of the Tour de France, proper altitude training can help you since many of the
summits are over 1600m elevation. As you get closer to the summit of these high
peaks, your body is more fatigued yet is working even harder to deliver adequate
oxygen. At 1524 meters, available aerobic power is estimated to be 94.4% of sea
level power in acclimatized athletes and only 91.1% in non-acclimatized athletes
(Bassett). When incorporating altitude into your training plan, make sure to
reduce your training volume & intensity to allow for the increased stress
that high altitude places on your body.
Improving you climbing
ability is hard work, but the process yields great results. There will be many
tough days on the hills. A positive attitude and long term focus will help you
through the challenging sessions. Stick with it, because the view from the top
of the climb is indeed the sweetest.
John Phillips is a Senior Coach for
Carmichael Training Systems, Inc. (CTS) and an elite cyclist and duathlete.
Although he’s big and tall for a cyclist, he can climb like the wind. To find
out what CTS can do for you, visit http://www.trainright.com/.
