wait ::: take a selfie with Ridemates ;; USe abusive languages ,it Creates Energy ;;Admire the Roadside;;sometimes Change your HAnd position around the Handlebar
Have my Garmin set up to show HR zones, rather than the actual HR. That way I can quickly check that I am in zone 4 (aerobic) and not dropping down into zone 3 (lazy) or pushing into zone 5 (blowing up). If I can stick a big climb (8km+) staying between 4.5 and 4.9 I know I'm doing a decent pace but not killing myself. On climbs in the UK this doesn't really work as they are usually too short and too bloody steep so you just push yourself into zone 5 and get it over with as quickly as possible. Having your zones set properly is vital for this approach though.
I rarely comment, but am an avid climber so here are some tricks I use to sustain climbs- If the climb is long, it helps to recruit different muscle groups in the legs and glutes -- this could be as small as shifting your position on saddle fore/aft, shifting hand and upper body positions, or standing. I also often shift hand positions to help remind myself to relax my upper body, be stable in the base, and break up the climb a bit. I used to go out too hard all the time, often at or just above FTP. The problems would start when the pitch would go up even greater, unwilling to sacrifice my cadence and rhythm, I'd end up pushing too hard and burn out the legs. Just repeat mantras to yourself to stay disciplined -- "pace the climb for the second half" If the climb is for a race or event -- research, research, research. Find locations where you can afford to go 110% of FTP, find locations where you can recover, find bends/dips/whatever where you can attack, find similar climbs you've done and study the numbers. Last tip and perhaps the best, work on your skills and strength -- What really made the difference for me between good climbing and great climbing was consistent core strength exercises (including a lot of glute work), strength sessions on the bike (progressive over-unders are great for this), and some high-torque work (even if your climbing cadence is quite fast -- mine usually sits around 100 rpm).
my tip....i climb like i run by synchronizing my breaths with my pedal stokes. one breath per four pedal strokes. it keeps my breath rate slow and helps maintain a steady heart rate. or you can hike a bike too
Would love to see GCN cover some local club climbs throughout the UK. Some near me are the Tak me down Road, the Crow Road, Rest and be thankful, etc. I'm sure there are a lot of good climbs near Bath/ Bristol to start off with and some tips for pacing would be a plus for the local hill climb race! Enjoying the content and keep it up.
I noticed you didn’t mention VAM (vertical ascent in metres) a metric offered on Garmin devices. It’s surprisingly useful even on changing gradients providing the climb isn’t too short. Maybe one for another video.
For a KOM, I'd look at the leaderboard for that climb and set both a realistic goal that I know I can sustain for sure and an ideal goal that would make me proud of my effort. Then I'd tackle the climb at the avg. speed of my realistic goal and try to improve or increase the pace from that.
The first time I raced up Mt. Evans in Colorado it took me about 3.5hrs moving (3.75hrs total) Mt Evans (Alpe d'Huez for comparison) Distance: 44.1km (13.8km) Base Elevation: 2298m (720m) Top Elevation: 4306m (1860m) Total Ascent: 2008m (1140m) The weird thing about racing that high was that I wasn't breathing hard, but my body didn't want to cooperate, and I had to stop several times towards the top. I think the best thing I did on that race was let the group go about 6km into the race. I knew that if I tried to stay with them, I'd end up cracking and not be able to finish, so this was one of those times that I just needed to ride my own ride. I say "first time" as if I've ever done it again, but I plan on doing it again eventually.
Great video. Any chance you can hook up with Phil Gaimon and do some climbing videos? Maybe invite him over and do Phil's GCN European Cookie Vacation with a Strava attempt each week for a month (or something like that)?? Still laughing at the scene in the Taiwan KOM video when he is doing the DS pep talk for Matt and Si.
Got a sportif this weekend, only 36 miles, but has 3600ft of elevation over that short distance. Last climb is "The Foxes Pulpit" up shacklebank lane. Supposed to be pretty tough. Going to need to employ all of this information :)
Old skool tip is start the climb in a low gear, and when your breathing has adjusted to the effort of the climb, shift to a bigger gear that you can still handle
I Get into a comfortable gear but low enough so I'm not banging the free hub at the end of the stroke, keep the cadence around 80-85 RPM & stay seated in the saddle for the climb up the hill. I will catch up to the people racing up the hill who passed me on the down slope side and I'll be in a better energy position since I didn't go past my FTP the drop them. Works every time.
Good video. Here in Andorra most of our climbs are one hour or more, with varying degrees of difficulty, so we are very used to the distance and the time spent at effort. That's why so many pros now love living here. Ace training! A question: cadence? 60, 70, 80 rpm or more? What is a good way top find your optimum cadence?
Great vid. That will help me, being new to road (i was and still am an ambitiond long distance tour rider, having done the rhein, the northern cost of france+germany+netherlands and a lot of other tours) cycling a lot. Ah jea and btw #EmmaFanSquad ❤
Look at overall predicted time of the climb. If someone attacks you at a pace you can't sustain, then just up the watts a bit and time trial them back.
xuweiwen A great deal of advice is offered which is based on what the professionals do. The thing that gives some people the potential to be a pro cyclist is a particularly good cardio-vascular capacity; big lungs, or big heart, or high haematocrit, or high VO2 max, or a combination of these. Compared to an average Joe the pros have oxygen to spare, which is why they can be efficient at quite high cadences. Higher cadence definitely requires more oxygen per watt. Only experimentation and experience can tell you what is the best cadence for you to ride at. I, for instance, know for a fact that I can sustain a higher power output on a long climb at around 70 rpm, and I've climbed in the Alps and Pyrenees. Cheers
Any tips for smaller hill climb trials ? I wanna compete in a short climb which has about 6-10 percent gradient for 5.3 kilometres, what power average should I aim for if my ftp is around 230-260 ?
Anything second hand that fits you. You will grow out of it so quickly you don't want to spend too much money. Unless you can sell it to the next person for exactly what you paid for it.
Looks fine, but it's not cheap! Depending if you have big hills or not, your local bike shop can always change the gears on the back of the bike to help you get up the climbs easier
Why has gcn been so poor in explaining the complications behind the chris froome situation. Why shouldn't he race?? His ban if found guilty will be 1 or 2 years.....so what is the problem? Why should he make that ban 2 and a half years off his own back. He will be tested in every race he does when In the leaders jersey and will be tested day in day out now. I really don't understand the issue. Not to mention that he is probably racing to try and replicate his physical condition on the day of the finding.
Do you have any tricks to pace yourself up long climbs? Let us know!
wait ::: take a selfie with Ridemates ;; USe abusive languages ,it Creates Energy ;;Admire the Roadside;;sometimes Change your HAnd position around the Handlebar
I wish i have any advice
Focusing on the beer I'll have at the end of the ride (science aside) :) Or the cake, if it's morning. Breathing steady works too.
Have my Garmin set up to show HR zones, rather than the actual HR. That way I can quickly check that I am in zone 4 (aerobic) and not dropping down into zone 3 (lazy) or pushing into zone 5 (blowing up). If I can stick a big climb (8km+) staying between 4.5 and 4.9 I know I'm doing a decent pace but not killing myself. On climbs in the UK this doesn't really work as they are usually too short and too bloody steep so you just push yourself into zone 5 and get it over with as quickly as possible. Having your zones set properly is vital for this approach though.
I rarely comment, but am an avid climber so here are some tricks I use to sustain climbs-
If the climb is long, it helps to recruit different muscle groups in the legs and glutes -- this could be as small as shifting your position on saddle fore/aft, shifting hand and upper body positions, or standing. I also often shift hand positions to help remind myself to relax my upper body, be stable in the base, and break up the climb a bit.
I used to go out too hard all the time, often at or just above FTP. The problems would start when the pitch would go up even greater, unwilling to sacrifice my cadence and rhythm, I'd end up pushing too hard and burn out the legs. Just repeat mantras to yourself to stay disciplined -- "pace the climb for the second half"
If the climb is for a race or event -- research, research, research. Find locations where you can afford to go 110% of FTP, find locations where you can recover, find bends/dips/whatever where you can attack, find similar climbs you've done and study the numbers.
Last tip and perhaps the best, work on your skills and strength -- What really made the difference for me between good climbing and great climbing was consistent core strength exercises (including a lot of glute work), strength sessions on the bike (progressive over-unders are great for this), and some high-torque work (even if your climbing cadence is quite fast -- mine usually sits around 100 rpm).
What wonderful addition Emma has been. Great info on the video, by the way.
Thanks Damon!
my tip....i climb like i run by synchronizing my breaths with my pedal stokes. one breath per four pedal strokes. it keeps my breath rate slow and helps maintain a steady heart rate.
or you can hike a bike too
Thanks for making this video guys! Honestly I suck at climbing but I'm hoping to get better!
This orbea is a very nice looking bike. Congrats Matt!
Would love to see GCN cover some local club climbs throughout the UK. Some near me are the Tak me down Road, the Crow Road, Rest and be thankful, etc. I'm sure there are a lot of good climbs near Bath/ Bristol to start off with and some tips for pacing would be a plus for the local hill climb race! Enjoying the content and keep it up.
Great tips. I'm going to need them. 😤
Eat Plants At your w/kg?!
Eat Plants 👍as I will
I love your channel! #GoVeganRideABike
I'd rather eat a steak man. :D
I've looked forward to hill climbing tips. It the one thing I really need to improve on.
You will be flying up those hills now! 😎
I have one trick enjoying the view of landscape and company from my friend's.pat from Belgium 🚲
I normally just count my pedal strokes
Note: be prepared to lose count and get disappointed with yourself
was the same for me but, remember to change leg or one became bigger. I stop a couple of year a go whit counting.
Thank you for this video and the tips. Anything with Emma is great!!!
Good to see Matt
I noticed you didn’t mention VAM (vertical ascent in metres) a metric offered on Garmin devices. It’s surprisingly useful even on changing gradients providing the climb isn’t too short. Maybe one for another video.
Doing (attempting) the Club Des Cingles in May and totally not prepped for it, so great tips on this video. Thanks
Good luck Indie Bike!
For a KOM, I'd look at the leaderboard for that climb and set both a realistic goal that I know I can sustain for sure and an ideal goal that would make me proud of my effort. Then I'd tackle the climb at the avg. speed of my realistic goal and try to improve or increase the pace from that.
Good to see that Emma uses the “smile” technique to ease the pain. 😀
Emma brings class to GCN. Big Up Emma!
The first time I raced up Mt. Evans in Colorado it took me about 3.5hrs moving (3.75hrs total)
Mt Evans (Alpe d'Huez for comparison)
Distance: 44.1km (13.8km)
Base Elevation: 2298m (720m)
Top Elevation: 4306m (1860m)
Total Ascent: 2008m (1140m)
The weird thing about racing that high was that I wasn't breathing hard, but my body didn't want to cooperate, and I had to stop several times towards the top. I think the best thing I did on that race was let the group go about 6km into the race. I knew that if I tried to stay with them, I'd end up cracking and not be able to finish, so this was one of those times that I just needed to ride my own ride.
I say "first time" as if I've ever done it again, but I plan on doing it again eventually.
Great video. Any chance you can hook up with Phil Gaimon and do some climbing videos? Maybe invite him over and do Phil's GCN European Cookie Vacation with a Strava attempt each week for a month (or something like that)?? Still laughing at the scene in the Taiwan KOM video when he is doing the DS pep talk for Matt and Si.
That was a classic for sure.
Got a sportif this weekend, only 36 miles, but has 3600ft of elevation over that short distance. Last climb is "The Foxes Pulpit" up shacklebank lane. Supposed to be pretty tough. Going to need to employ all of this information :)
Good luck Darren!
Matts orbea is sick. 👏
Old skool tip is start the climb in a low gear, and when your breathing has adjusted to the effort of the climb, shift to a bigger gear that you can still handle
I Get into a comfortable gear but low enough so I'm not banging the free hub at the end of the stroke, keep the cadence around 80-85 RPM & stay seated in the saddle for the climb up the hill. I will catch up to the people racing up the hill who passed me on the down slope side and I'll be in a better energy position since I didn't go past my FTP the drop them. Works every time.
Matt looks so cool with those Jawbreakers
😎
Great info.
Survive. With me, it's always just survive :-D
😂 not any more with our top tips!
Any climb that long and steep better have a Cafe or Patissiere at the top, otherwise I'm on the wrong hill.
Personal feeling and heart rare for me.
I'm sure I'll be re-watching this whenever I think about challenging Kennon Road.
GCN, please add more climbing workouts to Zwift! I need to get better at the grinders.
Hey Michael, thanks for the suggestion it is something we will look into.
Good video. Here in Andorra most of our climbs are one hour or more, with varying degrees of difficulty, so we are very used to the distance and the time spent at effort. That's why so many pros now love living here. Ace training! A question: cadence? 60, 70, 80 rpm or more? What is a good way top find your optimum cadence?
Great vid. That will help me, being new to road (i was and still am an ambitiond long distance tour rider, having done the rhein, the northern cost of france+germany+netherlands and a lot of other tours) cycling a lot.
Ah jea and btw #EmmaFanSquad ❤
FINALLY!!!!
Great climb. Nice scenery. Where is this?
Lactate acid build up was mentioned, how do I tell what this feels like? Is this the stiffness that i feel in my legs?
Ha! My longest climb in the county is under 10 minutes, means we have to test FTP on flat roads but even then those roads undulate
It's definitely tricky to find a suitable stretch of road, isn't it?
Matt, have you had a falling out with the other presenters? I haven't seen you with Simon or Dan.
My goal on any climb is to get to the top. That is all.
Rocky Mountain high, Colorado...
Look at overall predicted time of the climb. If someone attacks you at a pace you can't sustain, then just up the watts a bit and time trial them back.
#ASKGCN Emma, it seems to me that you are running particularly low on the saddle, is it? If yes any specific reason?
How do you use cadence to guage? If the gradient is standard through out, what cadence should i be maintaining?
xuweiwen 80-100 is ballpark
xuweiwen A great deal of advice is offered which is based on what the professionals do. The thing that gives some people the potential to be a pro cyclist is a particularly good cardio-vascular capacity; big lungs, or big heart, or high haematocrit, or high VO2 max, or a combination of these. Compared to an average Joe the pros have oxygen to spare, which is why they can be efficient at quite high cadences. Higher cadence definitely requires more oxygen per watt. Only experimentation and experience can tell you what is the best cadence for you to ride at. I, for instance, know for a fact that I can sustain a higher power output on a long climb at around 70 rpm, and I've climbed in the Alps and Pyrenees. Cheers
emma is a much better climber than the lads on the crew ...
Philip Sowden she weighs much less
Glomo weight helps but isn't everything
She actually won races when she was a pro, and she was a climbing expert
Emma is showing them the way.
I'm not sure that's really true. Simon is still in good shape, and I imagine he would drop her fairly comfortably on a longer, gradual climb.
Any tips for smaller hill climb trials ? I wanna compete in a short climb which has about 6-10 percent gradient for 5.3 kilometres, what power average should I aim for if my ftp is around 230-260 ?
280-310?
Matt. Slammed stem, and riser bar? Tut tut.
Cycgnr. Don't think it's a riser bar. My guess is Vision Metron 4D. Hoods at regular height
which climb was this filmed on?
It was filmed in Almeria, beautiful climbs
Thank you. It looks fabulous. PS Loving having Emma on the team ;-)
Its going to be tough because i dont have a riding buddy
How to know your heart rate limit:
220 - your age =
Example 220 - 20 = 200
Thats how you know your heart rate limit...
Have a nice day!
Akmal Vlog not true to every case
My only goal is too finish said climb
You made that video 5 times I think
Please subtitle. Automatic subtitles are terrible bad.
Second I guess
#notifcationgang. First
hei guys! can you recommand me a road bike for a 12 Year boy?
Do not by a carbon bike. Aluminium is a lot cheaper and does not brake that fast. If the bike is for Racing it should have at least a Shimano 105.
Benedikt Schubert caad12?
Anything second hand that fits you. You will grow out of it so quickly you don't want to spend too much money. Unless you can sell it to the next person for exactly what you paid for it.
thanks! (if you can tell me what do you think about frog road 67 bike )
Looks fine, but it's not cheap! Depending if you have big hills or not, your local bike shop can always change the gears on the back of the bike to help you get up the climbs easier
eat half on a gel, then stick it back to the pocket... genius.
Why has gcn been so poor in explaining the complications behind the chris froome situation. Why shouldn't he race?? His ban if found guilty will be 1 or 2 years.....so what is the problem? Why should he make that ban 2 and a half years off his own back. He will be tested in every race he does when In the leaders jersey and will be tested day in day out now. I really don't understand the issue. Not to mention that he is probably racing to try and replicate his physical condition on the day of the finding.
Usefull tips to bad I dont ride anymore , the girl is pretty cute
that bobbing tho..
Emma is so short, looking awkward when climbing of the saddle. Lol.
Emma? Would you marry me? ;)
Unfortunately I don't think even this video will help my
Climbing. I blow up on almost any climb,
Try to ride slower, if possible