Here are six things you can do right now to improve your climbing and make that epic battle the the terrain a much better experience.
1. Don’t surge at the base of the climb to try and keep up, or to try to fight your dropping speed. Instead, hold back, separate yourself from the riders pushing the pace, and feel out the climb toHold find a pace that you can increase your effort from later on in the climb.
2. Set your breathing rate to where you are able to deeply exhale at the end of each breathe. This is key because your breathing rate and depth will act as your guide all the way up the climb on how hard to go.
3. Ride the climb for speed instead of fighting the terrain in the places there is less speed. Push the pace on the transitions from steep to shallow gradient while holding back on the transitions from shallow to steep gradients.
4. Change your cadence to manage the different gradients. Use a lower cadence in areas of the climb that push you towards going over your zones. Then use a higher cadence in areas where you can accelerate to build speed like the shallow sections.
5. Look ahead. Don’t be a victim of the climb! Instead, look ahead to take control to “drive” the climb proactively. Plan your actions around what’s coming.
6. See your effort through until the end of the climb. Don’t change how hard you try in the middle or last part of the climb. Usually riders will back down in the last half of the climb as they lose focus or ambition to keep fighting. Commit to holding the same effort you started with to the end.
Tom Danielson, CINCH Cycling
www.cinchcycling.cc
https://www.facebook.com/cinchcycling
