How to get faster on hills
Leave the opposition behind with better climbing (Getty Images)
Races are often won in the hills, both on and off road. You can dramatically improve your climbing by doing the right specific training.
Improving your climbing speed
There are several ways you can improve your speed on hills by using the following training exercises.
a) Hill repeats
Find a hill that isn't too steep and is split into three distinct phases. The ideal is one that starts reasonably steep, say 8-10%, and then the middle third it flattens slightly and then 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 times. 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.
b) Change of 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. If you can do this, it is a wonderful way to crack the opposition in a race as the 'stop go' of the pace wrecks their rhythm and breaks their morale quicker than any other attack.
This is also a useful technique in mountain bike racing. Cross-country legend Juliana Furtado was a famous advocate of this technique and used it to devastating effect.
c) Brow sprints
How many times have I seen riders get to the top of a climb and stop pedalling to freewheel before they change into the big chainring? What a waste of time! I have my athletes practising brow sprints. This is where, on reaching the summit of the hill, you immediately get into your big ring and sprint over the brow into full speed for the descent.
This is a great place to attack in a race because you will notice that most riders will do this freewheeling lull after a tough climb, and you can create a gap really quickly. You can also be sure that others will hesitate to take up the chase and you can be away.
Even in time trials I've seen riders freewheeling over brows; that's valuable seconds lost. Don't hesitate - get into that big ring and sprint! You will have time to recover on the descent and can still be moving away from the others with the initial increase in momentum.
Positioning on a climb
Positioning on a climb is really important. If you aren't a strong climber (that's before you become one by following the above) make sure you start every hill at the font of the group. You then have plenty of wheels to hold if you start to go backwards. Always stay close to the rear wheel of the rider in front, but not directly on the wheel, this gives you an 'escape route' should he/she brake or 'come back' at you.
Be aware of the wind direction and tuck into the lee side of the rider. Stay really close to the wheel and take as much shelter as you possibly can. If there is a lull on the climb, make an effort to move up again, preferably on the sheltered side of the bunch. Use your head and think about saving energy. If you are a strong climber, try to split the bunch up by using the change of pace I have explained, or attack on the brow when they inevitably sit up!
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