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Climbing Techniques – Become a Better Climber

In this article i will go through a few different techniques that will enable you to climb more effectively. hopefully putting you at the front of the peloton or if your a sprinter, helping you stay on the back of the pack and not loose too much ground

1. Stay seated as much as possible. Every time you get out the seat and pedal standing up you are going to use more energy create more power but go no faster.
2. However on long climbs you will need to stand up every 400 to 500 meters. This gives your lower back a rest and uses different muscles in your legs. A good tip here is to gear down. so if you have been climbing in the 25, gear down to the 23 as you stand up. This will help maintain the speed you had while seated to keep up your momentum. When you are out the saddle you should not be leaning hard over the bars. Move yourself back so that the saddle is almost hitting your thighs as you rock the bike from side to side
3. Climb with your hands on the top of the bars. On the flats the drops and the hoods will be the best position for aerodynamics, but when you doing 15-20kmph up a hill the aerodynamic advantage of being in the drops will be close to zero. Riding on the top of your bars will also straighten your back and open up your chest. This will help your lungs operate efficiently. Your grip on the bars should be nice and relaxed, no need wasting energy gripping them hard and pulling at them with each pedal stroke
4. Rhythm. Its all about rhythm. find a cadence and speed that you can comfortably maintain and try and hold that all the way over the top of the mountain. In races attacks will happen and you will need to break rhythm to stay on wheels, but try and get back into your own groove as quickly as possible. going too hard too soon will put you in a sore burning state before you reach the top
5. Ride over the top. so many riders will get to the top of a hill and start to coast. This will be a perfect place for someone to attack and make some serious ground and you realize and then try and chase them down. Ride through the hill and pedal the start of the downhill. once you have settled into the decent you can rest the legs. If there is no downhill you going to need to suck it up and try and maintain a good speed so you don’t get dropped
6. Try and ride the hills before the event. If you know a race is coming up and it has a big mountain mid stage, try and ride that mountain before the event so that you have a good understanding of what is required. The knowledge you gain will be priceless
7. Sit as far back in the saddle as you comfortably can. This will create better leverage on the pedals and will put your weight as far back as possible
8. Time yourself. If there is a section of hill that you train on every week. Time yourself up and then try and beat your times. you will quickly see if you are getting any better
9. Be as light as possible. Pointless carrying up 2 full bottles of water if you don’t need them
10. Finally, Stay positive. its just a hill before you know it you will be over the top and thinking “I could have given that a little bit more”

hopefully armed with these tips you will be able to improve your climbing.